Perfect Beauty
by Patty3
Summary: *FINAL 3 CHAPTERS!* 1xOC, AU: Heero starts his life anew on earth. There he encounters a young girl who is not much better off than he is. Slowly but surely, she manages to warm Heero's heart and soul. Warnings: Lemon in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

The bells of the school echoed through the town as students made their way through the halls to their classes on the first day of the spring quarter. The rustling of feet and books resonated in the halls of the old school followed by several doors s

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 1

The bells of the school echoed through the town as students made their way through the halls and to their classes on the first day of the spring quarter. The rustling of feet and books resonated in the halls of the old school followed by several doors shutting as the last of the students scurried to get to their classes. 

The school was a private college nestled beneath the Swiss Alps, bordering a fairly large town, not too far from the big city. The town was old but filled with ancient culture and Old World charm. The snow-capped mountains in the background were slowly losing their whiteness as spring welcomed itself to another year. The serenity quickly came to a halt as the teacher screeched the chalk across the chalkboard, causing the class to jump up from their morning stupor and focus their attention to the teacher. "Good morning class. I'm Ms. Schmidt and welcome to English 101."

In the back of the room, oblivious to the teacher's voice, a young girl sat at her desk, staring aimlessly out the window at the scenery surrounding the school, not at all phased by the chalk moving awkwardly across the black board. While the rest of her classmates cringed after the shrill noise, she just continued to stare out the window blankly. She had long auburn hair and her eyes were a deep emerald color, both traits accenting her fair complexion beautifully. "Kanani O'Neal?" the teacher called out.

The girl quickly awoke from her little daydream and snapped her head forward and replied, "Here." After that brief interruption, she went back to her window, something that she had become quite fond of within the last few minutes. "And lastly, Heero Yuy," the teacher said as she finished roll call.

'Heero Yuy, that's an odd name,' she thought as she looked around the room to match the face with the name. "Here," a deep voice replied beside her. She was too busy looking outside the window to even notice her surrounding classmates. Kanani looked at him curiously, a boy with dark ruffled hair and midnight blue eyes didn't fit in around here. 'Wonder where he's from?' she thought as she looked at his attire. He was clad in dark blue jeans and a loose black turtleneck sweater. For some reason, the boy captivated her as she peered at him from the corner of her eye. He just sat there idly, barely moving a muscle, as he focused on the lecture at hand. Kanani knew that if she said anything to him, she would get in trouble, something she didn't want to do on the first day of class. After a boring introductory lecture, the students packed up their things and exited the classroom. Kanani took this moment to introduce herself as she turned to face Heero. "Hi, I'm Kanani," she said as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Heero looked up and since he didn't want to be rude, replied in his usual monotone voice, "Hi."

He then collected his things and left the class without saying another word. Kanani just stared at him as he left the room. 'There's something strange about him, his eyes, they looked so, empty,' she thought to herself as she too proceeded out the door. 

Kanani saw him walking down the hall towards his next class, she then looked down at her schedule. 'I'm in another class with him, hmm, wonder what that ones going to be like?' she thought as she made her way to the classroom door that he was about to go in. "Hey Heero, looks like we have another class together," she said as he held the door open for her. "Hn," was all he said as he followed her into the classroom. He walked towards the back of the classroom and she followed, taking a seat next to him. "So where ya from Heero?" she asked sweetly.

He said nothing as he took out his notebook and books. "I'm not from around here as well," she said as she stared out yet another window. Heero eyed her for a second, her once cheerful expression had dwindled into a more subtle, sorrowful expression. All of a sudden, the class became quiet and Kanani turned back around in her seat just as the teacher entered the classroom.

Not another word was spoken from Kanani for she decided to just leave Heero alone, if he didn't want to talk, then he didn't want to talk. As soon as class was over with, Kanani quickly grabbed her books and left the classroom to grab a bite to eat from the cafeteria. 

She took a seat in the corner of the cafeteria so she could observe all of the people. It was a small college so she recognized many faces that graced the halls everyday. Among the crowd, she spotted Heero, who was carrying a tray over to a table not too far from her. She sat there and watched him as he ate, not a soul near him. 'He doesn't seem to have any friends, he must be new,' she thought as she nibbled on her sandwich. Kanani began to feel sorry for him so she picked up her tray and carried it over to the table where Heero was sitting. "Mind if I join you?" she asked and he just looked up at her. She took that as a yes and sat down across from him. "Yuy, that's Japanese isn't it?" she inquired, trying to get a conversation started.

"Hn."

"Not very talkative are you? Well I understand, I'm new as well. My dad had to move here on business from Ireland. How did you end up here?"

He didn't bother to look up and just poked at his food, shoving bites in his mouth sporadically. "Oh fine," said a very flustered Kanani. "Whenever you decide to talk, you know where to find me." She then picked up her tray and walked off, Heero still remaining as stoic as ever as he ate the rest of his lunch. At the far door of the cafeteria, Kanani stood and watched him, he had not said a word to her or hardly acknowledged her existence. 'He's so strange, why is he so reclusive? I've heard of being shy but this is abnormal. Something must be bothering him deeply, causing him to shut himself off from the rest of the world,' she pondered. 'I think he just needs a friend right now,' she concluded, smiling slightly as she walked off to her dorm room since her day was over as far as school was concerned.

Kanani settled into her dorm room and decided to take a well-deserved catnap. Heero had retreated back to his for the day to settle in to his new accommodations. The hours flew by and when Kanani woke up, she realized that she had overslept a bit. She peered out her window just as the sun was starting to set over the mountains. She got up and stretched her arms into the air, "Dang, didn't realize I was that tired. I think I will head down to the terrace in the garden for a bit of fresh air." After pulling a sweater over her head, she left her room and headed outside.

Kanani stopped by the cafeteria on the way to the gardens and grabbed herself a bite to eat. The gardens were located towards the back of the school, nestled behind the cafeteria in a world of their own. They were planted by a group of monks who once used the school as a monastery. It was a simple garden but very beautiful and lush. Adorned with beautiful rose bushes and trellises full of climbing jasmine, the garden was truly a site to see. At the end of the garden was a terrace that when stood upon, gave a great view of the Alps. Sometimes Kanani would go out to the terrace and sit upon the railing and just stare up at the night sky, it was her little spot to get away from it all. Kanani was meandering towards the terrace when a figure sitting on the railing caught her eye, it was Heero. He was staring at the mountains and the clear midnight sky. She slowly walked over to him so as not to startle him. "Heero?" she said just above a whisper.

He turned his head and saw the approaching girl. "Hi Heero, would you like some company?" He just turned his head up towards the sky and sighed. Kanani took a seat next to him on the railing. "Beautiful night isn't it?" she said wistfully at the star filled sky.

"Your persistent," he said monotonously.

She just smiled slightly and said, "I'm sorry, I just thought you would like someone to talk to, being new here and all. Well, I'll leave now."

Just as she was about to hop off the railing, Heero spoke up and said, "No wait." He paused for a second to try and figure out what to say to her.

"I'm sorry." He paused again. "For being rude," he said casting his eyes downward at the ground.

"Oh don't worry about it, I'm used to it. I get ignored all of the time so it's really no big deal," she said as she looked at the snow covered mountains. Heero turned to look at her, he could sense an underlying sadness in her voice. "Why?"

"Ever since my mom died, my dad has been constantly working so he doesn't have to think about her. That is why we moved, so he wouldn't have to remember her anymore, all of those painful memories. My dad sent me here to this school so I wouldn't remind him of her. My dad has been hit the hardest by her untimely death and he hasn't been the same since." 

Heero saw tears welling up in her eyes as she averted her gaze upward to try and hide the tears that threatened to flow. He really didn't know what to do so all he could say was "I'm sorry." He has been void of emotion his entire life that he does not know how to express it or accept it. Clueless as to what to say, he decided to change the topic to a happier note. "You sure talk a lot," he said dryly.

She sniffled a bit and laughed softly. She then turned her head towards Heero and said, "Heero, where are you from?"

"I don't know," was all he said, his voice suddenly becoming sullen.

"Oh, I see, sorry to hear that," she said, as she looked curiously at him. There was a moment of awkward silence as the two took in the night sky and the cold mountain air. He wasn't giving her too much information so it was hard trying to start a conversation with him. She had to break the silence. She sighed and said lowly, "Why did you come out here Heero?"

"It's quiet," he stated plainly.

"Yeah, it sure is," she said wistfully as a breeze gently blew her auburn hair against her face. Heero looked at her from the corner of his eye as she spoke those words, her gaze directed upward at the star filled sky. 'Why does she even bother?' he thought to himself. 

'Hm, he's not much of a talker, what should I say? What should I do? I can sense so much pain emanating from him, it's so strange. And his eyes, they lack the rainbow of emotions that a normal person would possess, there is something deeper, I just know it,' she thought as the night sky captivated her with its everlasting beauty. 'I guess I will just leave him be, he seems to be going through a lot of turmoil within himself right now. He needs some time to himself and that I can understand,' she thought as she hopped off of the railing and stood beside him. 

"Well Heero, I will leave you alone now but if you ever need someone to talk to, just look for me and I will be there." With those words, she turned on her heel and vanished into the gardens leaving Heero in his own thoughts.

Heero remained on the terrace as Kanani made her way back towards the dorms. As she made her way through the gardens back to the main building, she stopped by a jasmine vine and gently plucked one of the blossoms. After inhaling the sweet aroma, she gently tucked the sprig behind her ear and continued along the path. For some reason, the image of Heero's eyes were embedded in her memory, they seemed to haunt her every time she thought about them. 'Wonder what happened to him to make his expression so vacant? Poor thing,' she thought as she entered the shelter of her dorm room. She pulled on her flannel pajamas and plopped down on her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. She looked at her dorm room window and just sighed, Heero was truly a mystery to her.


	2. Chapter 2

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 2

//"Daddy, why do we have to go? I want to stay here!" the little red hair girl cried to her father.

Her father kneeled down in front of her, a sorrowful expression evident in his bright green eyes. "Baby, I know you do, but we just can't," he said as he placed his hands on the little girl's shoulders.

"But why daddy?" she said softly, her tears sparkling on her moistened cheeks.

Her father paused for a moment and hugged his daughter as she cried into his chest. He then whispered softly in her ear, "Because your mom is still here."//

Kanani woke up in the middle of the night, her dream still fresh in her mind. She sat up and took a deep breath. She pulled the curtain aside slightly and gazed out at the dark landscape before her. It had been almost 10 years since her mother died and her father's words still echo in her mind to this day. She didn't understand then what his words meant but as she grew up, she put the puzzle together piece by piece. All of the memories of her mother still lingered in her father's mind, haunting him wherever he went. 'Dad, did you think that leaving home will erase mother's memory? Do you think you can escape all of those sweat memories? Why dad? Why do you want to forget?' she thought aimlessly as she peered out her window. 

She closed the curtain once again and slowly got out of bed. She padded softly across the room to her bathroom to get a glass of water. She flipped on the lights to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Kanani just stared at herself, gently running her fingers over her cheek, caressing her soft skin, tracing each feature along the way. Snapping out of her little trance, Kanani filled her glass with water and turned off the lights on her way out. Setting her glass on the night stand, she crawled under her sheets once again. Before drifting off to sleep, she asked herself one last question. 'I don't understand dad, I just don't understand.'

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Heero stood on his balcony, the cold night air chilling his face. He couldn't sleep as well and the calm of the night seemed to put him at ease. He leaned his back up against the railing, his gaze directed upward. 'She's so annoying. Doesn't she get the hint that I want to be left alone? Persistent girl,' he thought as he cracked a small smile. He then walked back inside his room and shut the door behind him. Heero flopped back down on his bed and folded his arms behind his head as he stared vacantly up at the ceiling above. He knew it was going to be another sleepless night.

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Morning finally came and Kanani slowly opened her eyes to greet the new day. She slowly flipped over and looked at her alarm clock. She flung her arm over her body and hit the alarm button just as it was about to go off. She rolled back onto her back and stretched her arms above her head. "I will never be able to get a decent nights sleep," she mumbled sleepily as she slowly sat up in her bed. Kanani rolled out of bed and made her way to the shower. 

She could never sleep whenever she had flashbacks of her mother, they always brought too many questions to mind. As she got older, more memories seemed to surface through her dreams, causing her to lose many hours of sleep over the years. What pained her the most out of all of this was the way her father was handling all of the pain. He became a recluse, shutting himself out from the world, especially his own daughter. When she lost her mother, she lost her father as well, she just didn't realize it then. As the hot water pelted her face, the sleepiness began to dissipate from her eyes, washing it down the drain. This was the only way she could wake up in times like these.

After soaking her body in the cascade of water, she toweled herself off and got dressed and ready for class. Kanani pulled on a green turtle neck sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans. After slipping on a pair of black boots, she quickly braided her hair at the nape of her neck, grabbed her books and left. She trampled down the halls of the dormitory and made her way to the main building where the classes were held. 'Why did I choose an 8 o'clock class?' she wondered aimlessly, completely unaware of the person walking in the hallway in front her. Before she knew it, she collided with the poor soul and her books crumbled to the floor in one big literary heap. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she said apologetically as she knelt down to pick up her books. 

She hastily collected her books, unaware of the person she had run into. Just as she was about to pick up her last book, a hand reached down to pick it up as well and accidentally brushed up against hers. The touch was so warm, so gentle, even if it was only for a brief moment. Kanani looked up only to meet with a pair of deep blue eyes. She felt her face turn hot from extreme embarrassment and she quickly apologized. "Heero, I'm so sorry."

Kanani stood up and so did Heero. "Next time, watch where you're going," he said almost dryly. Then he noticed the glazed over look in Kanani's eyes and the subtle circles beneath them. The tone of his voice changed slightly when he realized she didn't sleep either and that her senses were not quite alert yet. "Class is this way Kanani," he said as he walked down the hall in the direction of the classroom.

She blushed again, she was so caught up in her own thoughts that she absent mindedly turned the wrong way in the halls, thus hitting Heero head on. She just smiled and followed him down the hall to their classroom, her eyes cast downwards to the floor. 'Something must have her really distracted to cause her to run into me like that,' he thought to himself as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. The two entered the classroom with a few minutes to spare and took their seats towards the back of the classroom. Kanani took her seat by the window as she did the day before and Heero took the seat beside her.

'He must think I'm an idiot now, running into him like that. How could I have been so stupid? If I thought trying to get him to talk before was hard enough, now it will be almost impossible to get him to even say a word,' Kanani thought as she mentally cursed at herself. Just then, the door opened and in walked the teacher. "Good morning class," she chimed cheerfully as she set her books down on the desk. Those were the last words that Kanani heard as her attention was averted back out the window. Her father's words echoed in her mind, as if trying to tell her something. 'Is it because of me that my father is so sad? Is it because I look like my mother that he chooses to avoid me?' she thought idly as she stared out the window at the snow capped mountains.

"Ms. O'Neal?" the teacher called out.

"Uh, yes ma'am?" she said quickly as she drifted back into reality.

"Can you please answer the question?" the teacher replied.

Kanani didn't know what to say, it's only the second day and she's already getting into trouble. "Say adjective," a voice whispered beside her.

"Uh, adjective?" Kanani answered.

"Good Ms. O'Neal, glad you are paying attention," the teacher chimed and focused her attention back to the rest of the class.

Kanani let out a sigh of relief and glanced over at Heero. "Thank you Heero," she whispered gratefully.

"Hn," was all he said as he continued to listen to the teacher. 'Something's not right with this girl, she acts so strange. But why am I even bothering with her?' he wondered.

The class dragged on until the bell finally rang, relieving Kanani of her agony as she made her way out of the classroom and to her next class. She didn't get too far as a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop. She spun around only to face Heero's piercing blue eyes. "Yes Heero?"

she replied coyly.

"You need to pay attention more. You are your own worst enemy you know," he said before walking off in the direction of his next class.

Kanani stood there for a moment to try and digest what he had just said to her. 'That's the most he has ever said to me, wonder why?' she concluded as she too made her way to her next class.

She opened the door to the classroom and took her seat beside Heero again. There was a few minutes before the bell so Kanani took this moment to thank Heero for earlier. "Uh Heero, thank you for earlier, I wasn't thinking," she said softly.

Heero didn't say anything and Kanani just stared out the window beside her. "My mind was elsewhere, sorry," she concluded just as the teacher walked through the door. She turned around in her chair and focused her attention on the teacher's lecture. Heero looked at her from the corner of his eye, she was definitely hiding more than she let on. Her vacant expression seemed to embed itself in his mind, as if trying to tell him something. The class went by without a word spoken to each other, just occasional glances at each other while the other was not looking. As soon as the bell rang, Kanani quickly collected her things and left the classroom, she didn't want to face Heero after all of the events that have happened just in that short period of time. 'I need something to eat,' she thought as she changed her direction towards the cafeteria. 

As she walked into the cafeteria, her eyes caught a hold of something very familiar, the doors to the outdoor gardens. She paused for a moment and then the picture of the terrace came to her mind. She quickly snapped back into reality and went to get in line for lunch. From the far corner of the cafeteria, unbeknownst to Kanani, Heero stood, watching her very closely from the shadows. Her actions seemed very strange to him, especially when she paused at the doors leading to the outer garden. Something was going on, he just had to find out what. 'Why am I so concerned about her? It's none of my business, but then why do I care what happens to her?' He paused for a second and then something popped up. 'Wait, she's just like I used to be. I know what she's planning,' he concluded as he left the cafeteria.

After finishing her lunch, Kanani retreated back towards her dorm room with much haste. As soon as she was in her dorm room, she let out a sigh of relief and locked the door behind her. Then she collapsed on her bed, weeping uncontrollably into her pillow. Her body tired and emotionally drained, Kanani cried herself to sleep with her face still buried in the pillow.

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Night had fallen and Kanani had just woken up. Her head was spinning and a terrible headache throbbed within her head. She stood up and walked over to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. 'I can't believe I'm thinking about this, but it's the only solution. It's the only way to rid father of all his sorrow. Mother, I'm coming,' she said to herself as she looked in the mirror with a sense of resolution. Kanani went into the room and grabbed a jacket out of her closet. She carefully put on the jacket and walked out the door. Down the hall peering from around a corner was Heero, watching her every move like a hawk eyeing its prey. Heero followed closely behind as Kanani left the building.

Kanani left the dormitory and made her way down to the cafeteria on the other side of the school. The halls were quiet as for most of the students were in their rooms studying. Kanani walked through the nearly empty cafeteria and made her way to the doors leading to the outdoor garden, Heero lurking in the shadows. The cold breeze blew against her face as she opened the doors and walked down the path through the garden that led to the terrace. As soon as she got to the terrace, she looked around to make sure no one was around. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the railing and stepped onto the narrow ledge. Looking down she said, "Sorry father."


	3. Chapter 3

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 3

The wind whipped through her hair as she stood upon the ledge looking down at the ground below her. She closed her eyes and took a step off of the ledge, a sense of freedom filling her body. After only a brief moment of free falling, a hand grabbed her, halting her descent abruptly. She looked up only to see Heero holding on to her hand tightly. "Heero, what are you doing?"she cried out.

"What are you thinking?" he yelled at her.

"I'm relieving my father of his pain," she replied, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Please, let me go," she cried out again.

"This is not the answer," Heero said sternly.

Heero quickly pulled her up back onto the terrace safely. Kanani just stood there and looked at him before collapsing onto her knees and weeping uncontrollably. Heero knelt beside her and pulled her into his embrace instinctively. "Why didn't you just let me die? Why?" she sobbed as she looked up at him. "And, how did you know?" she said as she tried to get herself back under control.

"You are what I used to be," he said flatly. "I could see it in your eyes as plain as day."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, looking to him for some answers.

"That is not important now. You need to realize that you are not the source of your father's pain," he said as he looked into her sorrow filled eyes.

"Then what is?" she retorted.

With his thumb, he gently wiped the remaining tears from her face and said, "That is something he must figure out on his own. Your father has a lot of feelings to sort out and he's going to need you when he does sort out those feelings. Come, let's get you inside before you freeze to death."

Heero stood up, giving his hand to help Kanani up. She took it without question and the warmth of his touch soothed her aching heart. The two of them walked out the garden side by side, Heero keeping a close eye on her. Heero and Kanani went back inside the dormitory and just as Kanani was about to go to her room, Heero said, "You're staying with me tonight."

She paused for a second at what he had just said. Heero saw the confusion in her eyes and said, "Just for tonight. Follow me."

Kanani didn't question anything and just followed Heero up the stairs. 'I'm not going to let another person suffer as I have suffered,' he told himself as he opened the door to his room and walked inside, Kanani right behind him. His room was very simple, just a bed, desk, and a bathroom. The thing that caught Kanani's eye was a small balcony outside his room. "That balcony must be a great place for star gazing," she said out of nowhere.

Heero just looked at her for a second and Kanani realized what he was thinking. "I'm not going to pull that stunt again so don't worry," she said reassuringly.

"You will sleep on the bed, I will take the floor. Here's something for you to sleep in," he said tossing her a pair of sweats. "You can change in the bathroom."

Kanani took the clothes and went to the bathroom to change. Heero made the bed for her and made himself a bed on the floor beside her. Just then Kanani came out of the bathroom, her hair freed from the braid and flowing freely down her back. The sweats were a little big for her but that didn't matter at the moment, she was warm. Kanani looked at the bed Heero had made for himself on the floor. "You don't have to sleep on the floor you know, I'm not that big," she said with a slight grin on her face. "Plus it's a little warmer on the bed."

"I'm fine, now get some rest," he replied as he walked over to turn off the light.

Kanani crawled under the sheets and rested her head on the pillow. As soon as she was comfortable, Heero turned off the lights and made his way over to the side of the bed where he would sleep. Within minutes, Kanani was in a deep sleep, putting her soul at rest for the night.

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It was the middle of the night as the sound of sheets rustling woke Heero. He popped his head up to see what was going on and saw Kanani tossing and turning in her sleep. She was having a bad dream and she couldn't seem to wake up from it. Heero quietly got up and laid in the bed beside her. By placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he was able to ease her restlessness and calm her down. Heero remained in the bed beside her throughout the night just in case another bad dream would surface. Kanani slept soundly for the rest of the night with Heero by her side.

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Morning came and Heero slowly opened his eyes to see the sleeping Kanani curled up beside him. His lips curved in a slight smile at the girl, she was a lot less annoying when she was asleep. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to see Heero wide awake beside her. She blushed a bright red before cracking a smile and whispering, "Hi there, finally decided to take me up on my offer eh?"

"You were having a bad dream and your tossing and turning woke me up in the middle of the night," he said sleepily.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"You couldn't control it. You had better get up though and get ready for class. You need to pay more attention this time."

She giggled softly and crawled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. Heero heard the shower turn on and took this moment to change and get himself ready for class as well. He threw on a pair of dark blue jeans and a navy blue sweater. Just as he pulled on his sweater, he heard the shower turn off. He then heard silent curses echoing from within the bathroom. Just then, the door opened slightly and Kanani popped her head out, wearing only a towel. "Uh Heero, do you have something for me to wear," she said shyly, her cheeks turning bright red with embarrassment.

Heero rolled his eyes and muttered, "Just a second," as he began to dig through his closet. "Here," he said as he tossed her a pair a faded blue jeans and a burgundy sweater. Kanani caught them carefully so her towel wouldn't fall off. She nodded a thank you and closed the door to the bathroom. A minute or so later, Kanani stepped out of the bathroom clad in the clothes Heero had given to her. The jeans were a little loose and the top fit just right. "Well?" she said and Heero turned around.

Heero eyed her for a second and said, "Come, we're going to be late for class."

"Hold on just a second, let me braid my hair real quick," she said as she began to work her fingers through her hair. "Ok, let's go," she said as she slipped on her boots and made her way to the door. 'Women,' Heero muttered to himself as he trailed after her with books in hand. 

Half way to the main building, a thought came to Kanani's mind. "Heero, what about my books? They're in my room."

"You can share with me for today."

She breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking down the hall. Heero and Kanani made it to class just in time and took their seats in the back of the classroom by Kanani's favorite spot, the window. "Are you going to pay attention this time?" he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

"Yes I will," she said as she giggled softly.

Just then, the teacher walked into the classroom. "Good morning class. Today we will be doing some work in our textbooks so I hope you all remembered them. If you forgot, I will forgive you today, just find someone to share them with. With that said, please turn to page 10 in your blue book."

Heero pulled out the blue textbook from his bag as Kanani scooted her desk over by his so she could look at it as well. Heero opened the book to the designated page and laid it on the desk between them. "Can you see?" he whispered.

"Yes, thank you," she replied sweetly.

The teacher began her lesson on explaining the fundamentals of the English language. "Now if you turn the page, you will see a nice chart containing the basic principles of English," the teacher said looking up from her book.

Just as Heero was about to turn the page, Kanani reached for it as well. Her hand brushed up against Heero's accidentally and she quickly retracted it and whispered to him, "Sorry, go ahead." Kanani averted her concentration back on the book as Heero looked at her oddly from the corner of his eye. 'Her touch sent a warm feeling running throughout my body, how strange,' he thought as he ogled the girl beside him.

As Kanani was going through the book, she realized something. 'I never thanked him for saving me last night. I will thank him later after school. But I still don't understand how he found out what I was going to do though? He sure is a peculiar guy,' she concluded as she focused back on her school work. Class soon came to an end and everyone gathered up their books and left for their next class. 

Kanani followed Heero out of class and out into the hall. "Hey Heero, can I ask you something?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her. "I was just wondering, how did you know about last night? That is, where I was going. Did you follow me?" she asked curiously, prodding him for some answers.

"That's not important," was all he said as he continued to walk down the hall to the next class.

"But it is important," she said to his back. 

He paused and turned around for a moment. He didn't say anything and the look in his eyes frightened Kanani. Her heart sank to her stomach when she saw the emptiness, and the sorrow that loomed inside them. It was almost as if she had triggered something painful within him. Kanani said no more and followed him to class. Heero took a seat towards the back as usual and Kanani sat next to him. There was an awkward silence between them in the last few minutes before the bell. 'I feel so bad now. I knew I shouldn't have pressed the issue, but I just have to know. I mean, he did save my life,' she thought as she stared at her desk. She then propped her forehead on her hand and closed her eyes for a second. 'Boy did I ever blow it. I was finally getting him to talk and now my chances have been reduced from slim to none.'

The bell rang for class to begin just as the teacher walked in the door. Kanani couldn't even look at him, she felt so bad for what she said. The class passed slowly as the tension built up between them. Kanani just wanted to run out of the classroom so she wouldn't have to face him anymore, but that would look a little odd so as soon as the ending bell rang, she practically ran out of the classroom and up to her room. She flopped down on her bed and let out a huge sigh of frustration. "After all he did for me, this is how I repay him? I need to apologize to him, but not now, I will wait until later tonight." Her stomach started to rumble slightly as she held it with her hand. "All right already," she said to her stomach and left her room to head down to the cafeteria.

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Meanwhile, Heero went back up to his room to put his books away and collect his thoughts. 

He walked out onto his balcony and leaned up against the rail as the breeze ruffled through his hair. 'What should I tell her?' he thought as he looked out at the landscape. 'I'm not even sure why I did it myself.' Heero shut his eyes momentarily and then walked back inside and took a well deserved shower. He turned the knob and a cascade of water pelted his face, refreshing his body and mind. 'I just don't know what to do.' The hot water of the shower made his body relax to the point of feeling tired so with just a towel wrapped around his waist, he flopped down on his bed and fell asleep, hoping the sleep would help sort out his feelings.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kanani grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria and took it outside to the gardens to eat since it was such a beautiful day. She sat under an old tree that was on top of a grassy knoll and nibbled away at her sandwich. There she contemplated what she was going to say to Heero later that night. 'Words truly are powerful,' she thought as she looked out at the valley below. 'How come I can never seem to say the right ones?' She took the last bite of her sandwich, leaned her head back up against the tree, and shut her eyes. 'I may have lost the closest thing I've ever had to a friend,' she thought sadly as she opened her eyes again and took in the scenery before her. 'Mom, what should I do?' As if almost waiting for an answer, she paused to see if she could hear anything. 

'Kanani,' a voice sounded in her head.

This surprised Kanani. 'Am I hearing things?' Not knowing what to do, she replied, "Mom?"

'My dearest daughter, I am sorry that I cannot be here on earth with you anymore but I am with you in spirit, always,' her mother's voice spoke as if it were just a whisper in the wind.

"What do I do mom? I'm so lost," Kanani said, her eyes filling with tears at the sound of her mother's sweet voice.

'My child, you must sort these things out yourself, but I do have a gift that will help you. Hold still child.'

All of a sudden, a ghostly image of her mother appeared before her. "Mommy?" she whispered, trying to keep herself from crying.

Without saying a word, the spirit placed her hand upon her daughter's head and a yellow glow began to emanate from her palm. A tingling sensation filled Kanani's head and made her feel as if she was floating on air. Her mother then pulled her hand away and the tingling feeling ceased. 'I have given you the power to read people's minds, to see into their souls. Use this power wisely my dear, I pray that it will help you in the future.' The ghostly figured placed a gentle kiss on Kanani's forehead, cold to the touch, and then disappeared into the wind. 'Good bye beautiful one,' the voice echoed in the wind.

Kanani touched her forehead as if in disbelief. 'Was this real or was I dreaming?' she thought. "Mom, thank you," she whispered faintly into the breeze as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. The sun was starting its descent in the sky as Kanani got up and walked back towards the school. 'I must talk to Heero,' she declared as she made her way up towards his room. With a gentle rap on the door, she waited patiently for him to answer it. She was just about to leave when the door opened and there stood Heero. "Kanani, what are you doing here?" he asked surprisingly.

"Heero, I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I didn't mean to push you like that," she said apologetically.

He just stared at her, he really didn't know what to say. "Oh and I forgot to tell you thank you, for saving my life." With those last words, she placed a sweat kiss on his cheek and turned on her heal and left, leaving Heero in a state of shock. Heero then shut the door and retreated back into his room. Heero felt his face turn hot as he put his hand on the spot where her lips had just touched his skin. 'What an odd feeling? She sure is a strange girl,' he thought to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kanani retreated down the hall, her face burning hot as her cheeks blushed wildly. 'I can't believe I did that. I didn't even think about it, it just happened. Wonder what he thinks about me now?' She made her way back to her dorm room to settle down for the rest of the night and do her homework. She slipped into her pj's, which consisted off a tanktop and flannel bottoms, and laid across her bed to read one of her textbooks. She tried her best to stay awake, studying was not one of her strong points, but the sleepiness overcame her and she drifted off to sleep, her nose stuck in her book.


	4. Chapter 4

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 4

It was the middle of the night; the night air was calm as a gentle mountain breeze blew through the air. Heero was lying in his bed wide-awake, staring vacantly at the ceiling above. 'Why did she kiss me?' he wondered to himself. 'I know it was just a way of saying thanks but how come it felt like more than that?' Then a sudden knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. 'Who could that be at this hour?' he thought as he made his way to the door. He slowly opened the door only to find Kanani standing there in only her pajamas. "What are you doing here?" Heero inquired softly as he looked curiously at the girl. 

"Can I come in?" she said just above a whisper.

Heero opened the door and let her into his room. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the side closest to the balcony window. She cradled her knees up against her chest and rested her head upon them as she looked out the window at the darkened landscape. Heero just looked at her, he knew something was wrong but he didn't know what to say. "Kanani?" he whispered softly as he stood beside her at the foot of the bed.

There was a brief moment of silence before Kanani finally spoke up. "I had a dream Heero, a horrible dream." She paused, trying to maintain her composure, and continued. "It seems like just yesterday that she died, it was so unexpectedly. We had just come back from church on a beautiful Sunday morning, just my mom and I. We would always go to the local bakery after church to get some fresh bread. We walked everywhere; the town wasn't very big. My dad wasn't with us that day because he was away on business, it seemed like he always was. That's when it happened. My mom heard a car coming from a distance, which was highly unusual because cars weren't driven around there very often. We saw a jeep coming down the road; about 4 men seated inside, and a cloud of dust following it in their wake. I can still remember it as clear as day, I was only about 8 at the time and I had never seen a car before. As the jeep started getting into view, screams echoed throughout the town, the men in the jeep had guns. Everyone fled into the surrounding buildings but it was too late for us. They opened fire and my mom threw her body over me to shield me from the shower of bullets. All I could see was the anguish on my mom's face as her body was riddled with bullets, sacrificing her own life for mine. My clothes were saturated from her blood as it slowly seeped through her wounds. I held her in my tiny arms and cried as she slipped into the afterlife."

Heero listened intently to her words, his heart twisting at the underlying pain in her voice. He knew the pain she was going through, he had experienced it so many times before. He just wanted to touch her, to comfort her, to tell her that everything was going to be all right. He reached out his hand hesitantly to touch her, but quickly drew back as she began to speak again. "All I can remember now is the echo of bullets and the look on my mom's face as her soul left her body. I relive that moment almost every night in my dreams."

Heero took a seat beside her at the foot of the bed, he could sense that she was trying to be brave for him, but he wasn't fooled. He too was good at masking his feelings, so good, that he knew when others were masking theirs as well. "You know it's OK to cry," Heero said.

Kanani turned her head to face him, silent tears already pouring down her fragile face. Heero waved her over with his arm and she crawled beside him. He put his arm around her shoulder and embraced her with his other arm as she sobbed into his chest. He gently stroked her long auburn hair, trying his best to comfort and soothe her aching heart. Her pain filled tears caused his heart to ache; no one should have to go through this. Sometimes he wished he could go back in time and change everything for the better but all he could do now was be there for her, help her through her grief. "It's going to be all right," he whispered into her hair.

Her sobs slowly dissipated and she raised her head to look at him. "I'm sorry Heero, I know I cry too much."

"No need to say sorry. Crying is a release, so receive it when it comes, it eases the soul," Heero said, trying to comfort her the best that he could.

Kanani laid her head on his lap and looked out the window. "Why her? Why did it have to be her?" she said softly, fighting the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"I don't know Kanani," Heero replied. He was never quite sure why things like this happen to innocent people, they just do and that angered him terribly. Things were supposed to happen for a reason, but the senseless violence never had a real reason. Silence overcame both of them for a moment as the two gazed out the window.

"Another beautiful night," Kanani said wistfully.

"Yeah," Heero said as he looked down at Kanani who was taking in the night sky before her.

Silence overcame them once more and a few minutes later, Heero looked down to see Kanani fast asleep in his lap. A small smile crept over his face as he looked at the sleeping girl; she was finally at rest. He carefully eased her head off of him, laid it on the bed carefully, and got up off of the bed. Heero gently picked her up in his arms long enough for him to pull the sheets back on the bed. He gingerly laid her down on the bed and then took his spot beside her. Heero pulled the sheets over them and they both became lost in slumber for the rest of the night.

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The early light of dawn peeped over the Alps, cascading their light upon the lush green valley below. The brilliant light flooded through Heero's window and landed upon Kanani's serene face. Her eyes slowly opened to see the beautiful sunrise before her. She watched the bright orange ball of light as it made its way over the horizon, its light flooding the valley like a river of light. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and turned her head slightly to see Heero fast asleep beside her. 'I need to stop doing this,' she thought comically. 'But he does look kind of cute when he sleeps,' a smile spreading across her lips at the thought. His ruffled dark brown hair covered his eyes and part of his face like a chocolate veil. She delicately brushed the mass of hair away from his face and eyes with her hand, gently tucking it behind his ear. Kanani smiled slightly, admiring his face momentarily, before curling back up under the sheets, she didn't want to wake him. Little did she know that the warm and gentle touch of her hand had caused Heero to awaken. Heero's eyes slowly fluttered open only to see a young girl lying beside him, her eyes closed and resting soundly. The slight movement of the bed beside her told her that Heero was finally awake. Kanani slowly opened her eyes and through her slightly blurred vision, she saw Heero staring right back at her with his intense navy eyes. She smiled lazily and said, "Good morning. Did I wake you?"

"Like always," he muttered jokingly.

"Sorry, it's just that your hair is always covering your eyes and it drives me nuts. You have pretty eyes, you shouldn't hide them," she said as she cast her gaze downwards away from his. "Well I'm going to take a shower," she said as she climbed out of bed and strode across the room. Heero just looked at her oddly. 'What was that all about?' he wondered. He then heard the shower water go on and took that moment to get dressed. After he got dressed, he made the bed and sat down, waiting for Kanani to get out of the shower. 

'Why did I say that? He must think I'm nuts, of course he probably came to that conclusion when he first met me,' Kanani thought as the hot water sprayed her face. 'Idiot,' she cursed to herself as she began to wash her long mane. Heero waited patiently on the bed contemplating what she had just said to him. 'That came out of nowhere,' he thought as he stared at the bathroom door. As if on cue, the shower water shut off and Kanani came out a few minutes later. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel and she was wearing her pajamas from the night before. She saw Heero sitting on the bed waiting for her and she spoke up, "Heero, I'm so sorry for inconveniencing you like this. If I wasn't such a cry baby.." 

Before she could finish what she was saying, Heero came up to her and put his finger to her lips to silence her.. "Like I said before, crying is a release. Besides, it's nice having company once and awhile. I've been alone for so long that it feels good to have someone there for you, even if all they do is talk," he said almost jokingly.

She was a little shocked by this action, she wasn't expecting him to say that to her. She gently pushed his finger away from her mouth and said, "I don't talk that much, do I?"

"Let's just say you do enough talking for the both of us," he replied sarcastically.

"Well that's not saying much, especially in your case. I can practically count the number of words you say a day on my own two hands," she said with a grin.

"Funny. Now let's get you to your room to change, I don't think the teacher will approve of your current attire," he said sarcastically.

Kanani pulled the towel off of her head and hung it up in the bathroom. Heero grabbed his books from the desk and went out the door, Kanani following close behind. The two walked down the hall towards the girls' end of the dormitory to Kanani's room. The two received odd looks as their fellow classmates ogled them; Kanani in her pj's didn't help the situation. They ignored the snickering and pointing fingers and took refuge in Kanani's room.

Kanani quickly changed into some decent clothes and the two headed off to class. "What's with the name? It seems a little odd," Heero inquired on their way to class.

"Huh?" Kanani said surprisingly.

"You've got a Hawaiian first name but an Irish last name, what's the deal?"

"I was named after my grandmother, my mom's mother, she was full blooded Hawaiian. She married my grandfather, who was American, while he was stationed there as a soldier in the Army. My grandfather was then transferred to Ireland, where my mother was born shortly after. It was in Ireland that my mother grew up and fell in love with my father, an Irishman. That is the deal with my name," she stated.

"Oh ok, that makes sense now," Heero stated as the two continued to walk to class. Then Kanani stopped in her tracks, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Hey Heero, I want you to meet my dad."

"What?" a shocked Heero replied.

"Yeah, he works in the city so we would have to take a train there, like a little field trip, what do you say?" Kanani said eagerly.

Heero was dumbfounded, he had no idea what to say. "Why do you want me to meet your father?" was what he finally spit out.

"Well, you're the first friend I've ever really had and I want to let him know that I'm happy and okay," she replied timidly as she looked down at the ground.

Heero noticed her sudden change of mood and replied with caution, "Why don't you call him first so he knows you are coming."

She looked up, a huge grin spread across her face. "Really? Thanks Heero! I will go call him now, we still have a few minutes before class."

"You go ahead, I will go save us some seats. Hurry up, don't want to be late again," he said as she bolted off towards the phone. Heero looked as she made her way down the hall, a sense of worry evident upon his face.

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"Hello? Dad? It's me Kanani. Is it all right if I come over to visit for awhile, I want you to meet a friend of mine that I met over here at school."

Her father a little hesitant to reply, but finally spoke up. "Sure honey, I look forward to your visit. See you in a few hours."

"Bye Daddy," Kanani replied.

"Bye sweetheart," her father said and then hung up.

He turned in his chair and looked out the window with his hands folded under his chin. After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes and turned around back in his chair. He opened them to look at a picture on his desk, a picture of his two most prize possessions, one which he had lost tragically a few years ago. All he had left was Kanani, and he wasn't going to lose her.

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Heero waited patiently for Kanani to return to class, it was only a few minutes before the class would start. Then he saw the door fly open and Kanani walk in, a look of contentment on her face. Heero all of a sudden had a sinking feeling in his stomach, like someone had just knocked the wind out of him. She happily took the seat next to him, he was afraid of what she was going to say next. "Guess what Heero? My father said I could come, he's expecting us later this afternoon. Isn't that great?"

Heero just cracked a smile, he had a bad feeling about all of this. The school day passed like it was nothing and before they knew it, they were on a train to the city to visit Kanani's father. Kanani fidgeted in her seat, eager to see her father, while Heero stared aimlessly out the window at the passing scenery. Kanani noticed Heero's silence and spoke up. "Heero, what's wrong?"

Heero, snapping out of his daze, replied sarcastically, "Oh nothing, just a little tired that's all. You kept me up all night and I didn't get much sleep."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Hey, I was just kidding. Look, we are here," Heero said as he pointed out the window at the sign.

Her face immediately lit up and as soon as the train stopped, she practically dragged Heero off of the train. The train station wasn't too far from downtown where her father worked so they were there in no time. The building her father worked in was a tall building, about ten stories tall and covered with windows. "Well here we are, let's go Heero," Kanani said as she took his hand and led him inside through the revolving doors.

As soon as she walked in, the receptionist said, "Well hello Ms. O'Neal. Good to see you."

"Hi Ms. Burke," Kanani replied cheerfully.

Kanani and Heero got on to the elevator and Kanani punched in the tenth floor. Heero watched slowly as they ascended the building, floor by floor, he watched. "We're here Heero," Kanani said as the elevator reached the tenth floor. As soon as they walked out, her father's secretary was there to greet them.

"Your father is expecting you, go on in."

With a push of a button, the door opened and the two walked in. The door then shut behind them and Kanani's father turned around in his chair. "Hi dear, so nice to see you," he said as she came over to hug him.

Heero stared at him and made a nodding gesture to her father and he returned it. "Father, this is Heero, my friend I was telling you about," Kanani said as she walked over to Heero.

"Kanani, please sit down dear, there is something I need to tell you," her father said monotonously.

------------

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 5

"Kanani dear, there is something that I think you should know. Your mother was not killed through some random act of terrorism, she was killed by the IRA. When I was younger, I, along with many other college students, protested the IRA. I was very liberal at the time and I voiced my hatred for them numerous times at several rallies. They contacted me one day and warned me that if I spoke about them with such vile again, they would hurt something very dear to me. At the time, I didn't think about it and thought that it was just an idle threat, I had nothing to hurt anyways. Years went by and nothing had happened so I thought nothing of it. When news of the shooting aired at work, my heart sank and that was when I realized that the IRA didn't forget me after all. We didn't flee Ireland because of my job, it was because of them," her father stated as he looked sideways out the window at the city below.

"But Dad, why didn't you tell me this before?" Kanani implored.

"You were too young to understand. I felt this time would be right to tell you, I couldn't keep it a secret any longer."

Kanani remained silent for the longest time, she was still trying to absorb all of what her father had said to her. "Kanani, there is something else I need to tell you," her father said and she gave him her individed attention. "Heero here is your bodyguard. I asked him to protect you for the time being. Heero is the best in the business and I could never be too careful when it comes to the safety of my only child."

Kanani looked over at Heero who was leaning up against the wall, arms folded, remaining in the shadows. Heero looked up to meet her gaze momentarily, he could see the confusion in her eyes as plain as day. Kanani turned back around, shocked at the reality of her life. 'Was Heero only nice to me because he is my bodyguard? Were all of those displays of kindness and caring all an act?' Kanani thought as she stared at the ground, she felt so betrayed. Her father had withheld the truth from her about her mother's death for so long and the one she thought was her friend, turned out to be her bodyguard. "Kanani dear, are you all right?" her father asked.

Kanani looked up at her father, she fought back the tears that began to well up in her eyes. She took a deep breath and replied, "I don't know what I am father." Kanani then stood up and turned on her heel towards the door. She then paused and trying her best to cover up the sadness in her voice, said, "It was nice seeing you again father and thanks for telling me the truth about mom, it makes things a little bit clearer now. Good-bye." She walked to the door and it opened. She stepped out of his office not once looking back. The door shut behind her.

"Heero, keep a close eye on her please," her father said.

Heero nodded and left the office as well. He found Kanani sitting outside in the lobby downstairs waiting for him. Kanani smiled faintly at him and they left to go catch the train back to the college. Kanani took the seat beside the window and stared out it the whole way home, not saying a single word. Heero looked at her through the corner of his eye and thoughts began to flow through his mind. 'I knew this was going to happen but it had to be said. I just wish I wasn't there when it was said so I didn't have to look into those eyes of hers,' he thought as he looked at her. His eyes then began to softened a little as he gazed at her, her auburn hair glistening in the soft sunlight. 'Poor girl,' he thought as he reached over to touch her but quickly pulled back when he realized what he was doing. 'What am I thinking?' he questioned himself. 'I'm her bodyguard, it is my duty to protect her, that's that,' he told himself, as he reverted back into his soldier mentality.

Kanani noticed his hand out of the corner of his eye and spoke up softly, "Heero?"

"Huh?" he said as she caught him off guard.

"Were you only pretending to be my friend?" she said just above a whisper.

Heero was stunned, he wasn't sure what to say. 'Was I just pretending or do I really care for her?' he thought. He finally replied, "To tell you the truth Kanani, I'm not really sure myself."

"Oh, ok," was all she said as she turned back around to face the window. The rest of the trip was left to silence.

When they returned home, Heero escorted Kanani to her dorm room, she had a very long and emotionally draining day. With a faint smile, Kanani said good bye to Heero and shut the door behind her. Within seconds, he heard her flop down on her bed and the muffled sobs as she cried into her pillow. Heero just turned and walked away, he couldn't stand to hear those painful cries. 'I will not let my personal feelings get in the way of my duty,' Heero mentally ordered himself as he walked back towards his own room. 

Kanani had cried herself to sleep, the day was just too much for her to handle. Heero had gone back to his room and flopped down on the bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling above. 'Why did she have to get so attached to me? It makes the job a lot harder,' he pondered, he just didn't know what to do about the whole situation. All of a sudden the phone rang, making him lose his train of thought. "Hello?" 

"Heero, I need to talk to you. Meet me at the hill over by the garden terrace, you will know what I mean. Be there at 8 o'clock tonight please. Bye," Kanani said, not letting him get in one single word. He looked over at the clock and he still had half an hour to go. He had no idea what she wanted to talk about, everything was basically said and done earlier that day. He sat on his bed and looked out his bedroom window as the sun was beginning to set, it was going to be another cold night. Heero then walked out onto his balcony and watched as the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon. As soon as night fell, Heero went back inside and reached into his closet and pulled out his black leather jacket and put it on over his dark blue turtle neck.. At ten minutes til' eight, he headed out towards the garden terrace.

He was right, it was a cold night and the icy wind blew up against his face. The night sky was littered with a sea of stars as the moon rested high in the sky above. Heero inhaled the frigid air as he walked towards the gardens, the smell of the jasmine blossoms getting stronger as he got closer. Heero ventured over to the terrace and to his left, he saw the hill Kanani was talking about. He followed the little pathway that led to the hill which was covered in long, lush, green grass and little wild flowers that looked like little fireflies dancing in the wind. There sitting amidst it all was Kanani, her knees pulled to her chest as her head rested upon them, her gaze directed upward at the sea of stars above. Heero watched her quietly for a moment and so as not to startle her, he gently strode across the grass to take a seat next to her. "Hi Heero. Thank you for meeting me here," she whispered softly.

He sat down beside her and leaned back on his hands, his feet stretched out in front of him. "Heero, there is something I need to talk to you about," Kanani said softly.

Heero turned his head slightly as she spoke. "Why Heero? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not important. You weren't supposed to know," he replied.

"Oh I see," she replied in a solemn tone. "I guess it's not that important, trusting and pouring your heart out to someone who doesn't even care about you in the first place, no, that's not important. To actually care about someone and then to find out that they only pretended to care for you in return, no, that's not important. To think, I thought of you as a friend, now I realize that you were just there for me because you had to, because that was your job," Kanani said angrily.

"Kanani, I'm sorry, I don't know what to say," Heero replied softly.

"I'm not a kid anymore! I can take care of myself. Besides, you're just a kid as well, how the hell are you supposed to protect me? My father must have been nuts to hire you to protect me, in fact, he must not care that much about me at all to send a kid like you to protect his only daughter," she spat out bitterly.

Heero remained silent as her words penetrated his heart like a million little daggers. "How...the..hell...are..you supposed..to...protect...me!?" she said as tears started to flow freely down her face. "What, you have nothing to say? That's no surprise," she spoke calmly, finally regaining her composure. After a moment of awkward silence, Kanani turned her head upwards at the stars and sighed.

"Why did my father hire you," she muttered faintly. 

Heero didn't respond and Kanani looked at him, she saw that his eyes were filled with deep pain and anger. "Heero?" Kanani implored. She then realized something, her mother and her gift. Kanani knelt behind Heero and placed her hands on his temples and closed her eyes. "Just hold still Heero." She concentrated hard and then the visions of his past life flooded her mind. She saw the life he had endured and all of the pain he has been through and witnessed. Kanani couldn't take anymore of it, she quickly let go and knelt there absorbing all that she had saw. Tears filled her eyes again and she wrapped her arms around Heero's shoulders, nuzzling her head against his back and sobbing. "I'm so sorry Heero, I didn't realize.." she sobbed and Heero just closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of her breath against his back. Kanani then stood up and walked away from Heero, she couldn't face him after what she had said. 'God what have I done?' she questioned herself. 'He must despise me after all that I said to him," she thought as she stood there looking up at the stars, her arms wrapped around herself to try and keep warm.

Heero turned and looked at her standing by herself, her cheeks glistening from the newly shed tears. Her hair blew in the cold mountain breeze, whipping strands of it against her face. He got up and walked towards her. As he got closer, Heero could see her shivering so he took off his jacket and walked behind her to put it around her shoulders. She turned her head sideways to see him standing right beside her. "You looked cold," he said quietly.

"Heero, I'm so sorry, you must hate me after all of the things I said to you. I had no right to say such things," she said sadly.

"Don't be, you had every right to be angry," Heero said calmly.

"I didn't realize the life you had to endure, it must have been difficult," she spoke as she looked at him from the corner of her eye as they both looked out at the stars.

"I got through it and that's all that matters. Kanani?"

"Yes?"

"How did you know?"

"I read your mind. Let's just say it was a gift bestowed on me by my mother."

"Kanani?"

"Hmm?" 

"I wasn't pretending," Heero said into the wind.

Kanani turned and looked at him and smiled. "Do you mean it?"

He just smiled back and she took that as a yes. "Beautiful night isn't it?" Heero said out of the blue.

"Sure is," she whispered.

Heero then took a seat on the grass and patted the spot beside him. Kanani took a seat beside him and pulled her knees tightly to her chest. Catching her off guard, Heero put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him, her head resting against his shoulder. "You were shivering," was his only explanation. 

"Aren't you cold Heero?" Kanani said as she looked up at him.

"Not the least bit," he replied as he pulled her a little closer.

Heero felt her eyes on him and looked down back at her. He didn't smile but all Kanani had to do was look into his eyes to know that he was smiling back at her, in his own little way of course. Kanani smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. Without thinking, Heero put his other arm around her, embracing her as if to shelter her from the cold. "The stars sure are beautiful," Kanani whispered as she looked out at the stars above.

"Yeah."

"Heero, are the stars as beautiful here as they are in outer space?"

"Yeah but too much of something will cause you to lose sight of its true beauty."

"I don't think I could ever get tired of stars," Kanani replied.

Heero smiled slightly and looked down upon her as the night sky cast a subtle glow on her face. "I don't think I will either," Heero answered quietly. 

"Heero?"

"Yes?"

"Can you always protect me?" she muttered just before she fell asleep in his arms.

Heero looked down on her and cracked a smile, 'Always.' Heero just sat there for awhile in the serenity of the night before scooping her up in his arms and taking her back to her room. He gently pulled back the sheets and laid her gingerly on the bed. After he pulled the sheets back over her, he quietly walked out of the room, locking the door on his way out. Heero then retreated back to his room, it had been a long day for the both of them.


	6. Chapter 6

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 6

It was the middle of the night when Kanani suddenly awoke from her slumber. She sat up and looked at her surroundings and finally realized that she was back in her room. One minute she was with Heero and the next, she was back in her room. 'How the heck did I get here?' she thought to herself. Then the memory of earlier that night came to mind as she realized that she was still wearing Heero's jacket. She could smell the subtle aroma of the leather and the unique scent that only Heero himself possessed. 'I must have fallen asleep in Heero's arms. I can't believe he carried me all of the way back to my room and put me to bed,' she thought with a slight smile on her face. 'I will have to thank him in the morning for that. Hmm, I wonder if he's awake.' She shook her head. 'Nah, I think I will let him sleep, too much stress in one day for the both of us to handle. I should get some sleep as well I guess.' Kanani curled back under the sheets and shut her eyes as she slowly drifted back to sleep, but before she could do so, the phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered sleepily.

"Did I wake you?" a voice replied softly.

"Heero? No you didn't wake me but why did you call? Is something the matter?"

"How come you are up?" he asked, avoiding the question completely.

"I just woke up out of the blue," she responded. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, no, not really. I couldn't sleep," Heero muttered.

"Heero, I know something is wrong, you wouldn't wake me up in the middle of the night if there wasn't. Would you like to come over and talk about it? Maybe it will let you rest a little easier."

"OK. Be over in a second," Heero said then hung up.

Kanani got out of bed and decided to change her clothes and put her pajamas on. She quickly twisted her hair into a braid at the nape of her neck and sat down on her bed and looked out the window at the dark landscape before her. Minutes later, she heard a gentle rapping at her door. She softly padded across the room to answer it. To no avail, there was Heero. She let him in and she took a seat back on her bed as he sat on the edge of the bed along side her. The room was almost completely dark except for the faint glow of the night sky peering in through the slit in her curtains. "I thought I was the one who did all of the waking up eh Heero? Something must be on your mind," she said as she peered out her window and then looked back at him. 

"Kanani, I'm going to give it to you straight, your life is in danger. It is not safe here anymore," he said seriously.

"What?" she said in almost disbelief.

"The IRA wants you dead as payment for your father's misdeeds. We must get you out of here as soon as possible. Your father thinks it is best for you to hide out with me for the time being, they have probably caught on to the school already and are just waiting to strike. We can't let that happen."

"What do you mean hide? I can't just keep running away!" she exclaimed.

"If you have any regard for your father's feelings, you should, it is for your own good. Earlier today, your father received a call from the IRA and they threatened him again, the same voice with those same exact words as before. Kanani, we must leave tomorrow night."

"But why didn't he tell me that?"

"He didn't want to worry you."

"Worry me? I'm his daughter for crying out loud! I have every right to know if my life is being threatened!" she said angrily. Then there was an awkward moment of silence as Heero looked at Kanani from the corner of his eye. Kanani hung her head low and stared back out the window. "I'm frightened Heero, I don't want to die," she said solemnly. 

Heero placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up to meet his gaze "Don't worry Kanani, I'm going to protect you no matter what. I promise that nothing will happen to you as long as I am alive and I'm sure as hell not going to let you die, got that? Now let's get some sleep, I will stay here with you tonight," he said soothingly.

"But I don't know if I can sleep Heero, too much is happening. My head is spinning and it refuses to stop," Kanani said as she stood up. She opened up the curtains and stared blankly out the window, slowly running her fingers down the cold glass. "All I ever wanted to be was a normal girl, to lead a normal life," she said wistfully. "Heero can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"Why did you decide to protect me?"

Heero remained silent for a moment and then replied. "Many innocent people have died at my hands. By protecting you, I can guarantee that at least one innocent person will live."

"But out of all the innocent people in the world, why me?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Don't know or won't tell me," she retorted.

After a moment of brief silence, Heero spoke up. "Do you really want to know?" That got Kanani's full attention.

"I chose you because I not only wanted someone to protect, but I wanted a friend as well, something that I have never truly had. I didn't want to live my life alone any more," Heero said, Kanani's smile softened with his words..

"Well Heero, thanks for choosing me. It's nice having a friend for more than a few days and especially one who can put up with me," she said lightening up the conversation a bit.

"I didn't think it would be this hard though," he said sarcastically.

"Is that a sense of humor I detect?" she said mocking him.

Heero cracked a small smile at what she had just said. "Now Kanani, as much as I enjoy our late night chats, I think we both could use a little sleep."

"Hey, you're the one who called me," she said smiling.

"Yeah and look where it got me."

"Funny," she said as she stuck her tongue out at him. She said no more after that and nestled back down under the covers as Heero laid down beside her. Before she shut her eyes, Kanani whispered, "Thank you Heero."

"For what?"

"Everything," she said, and went to sleep before Heero could get the last word in. Heero just looked at her and thought, 'I promise I will not let you die Kanani, I swear on my life.' 

Throughout the night, Heero just watched her sleep, so peaceful and calm, you would never think she had received a threat on her life. Her hair fell around her in a veil of auburn, making her seem angelic. It was then that Heero reached his hand out to smooth away a strand of hair from her face, but his mind was disputing his actions. 'You can't do this, she's your mission Yuy, do not let your emotions interfere,' his hand stopped in midair at the thought. 'Must not get involved,' he ordered himself. But as he looked at her, his mind began to sway in the opposite direction. 'But is it so wrong to act on your emotions?' 

The whole time it felt as if Heero had the devil and an angel on each of his shoulders telling him what to do. 'I'm not the person I used to be, I am a human, not a machine,' he said putting an end to the conversation going on within his mind. He followed his heart and gently tucked that stray lock of hair behind her ear, admiring her face as his hand softly brushed up against her cheek, he then pulled it back slowly. She stirred slightly at the gentle touch but remained asleep. From then on, Heero just laid there, watching every breath that escaped from her lips. She was beautiful to him. 

At first he thought of her as annoying and just another person whom he had to protect, but then she grew on him and became more than just another person. She's the first real friend that he has ever truly had and we wants to keep that no matter what. Sleep finally overtook him as he joined Kanani in peaceful slumber.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The light of dawn poured in through the window, waking both Kanani and Heero. Kanani winced at the bright sunlight and curse herself. "I knew I should have close those curtains last night, argh."

Heero turned over on his side to face the grumbling girl beside him. She looked back at him with lazy eyes. "Don't worry about the curtain, we've got a lot to do before tonight. Now get up," Heero ordered as he got out of bed. "Go take a shower while I go back to my room to collect my things. I will be back shortly," Heero said as he walked out the door.

Kanani sprawled out on the bed, her mind and body not fully awake and aware of what was going on that day. She then remembered what Heero told her last night and she frowned at the thought. 'I don't want to leave, but I guess I have no choice,' she thought. Kanani then rolled out of bed and trudged over to the bathroom to take a shower in an attempt to wake herself up. 

Meanwhile, Heero was in his dorm room packing what little he had with him into a bag. His laptop, a few items of clothing, his extra gun, and whatever miscellaneous things he could find. He was not looking forward to this but he knew it had to be done. After he finished packing, he took a quick shower, it would be awhile before his next. He was in and out and got dressed quickly. He tucked his gun behind his back in his jeans and pulled his jacket over him. He then grabbed his bag and headed back towards Kanani's room.

Kanani had just got out of the shower and just finished getting dressed when she heard a knock at her door. She knew who it was and said, "Come in."

Heero let himself in and said, "After class, I want you to pack your stuff so we will be ready to head out tonight, maybe sooner."

"Sooner?" Kanani asked curiously.

"It is always good to be prepared."

"Oh, ok. Well I'm ready, let's go," she said waving him out the door. "We have class to go to."

The two went to class knowing that it would be their last. Heero didn't want to miss class that day because he didn't want to look too suspicious. They took their usual seats in the back of the classroom acting as if it was any other day. Heero paid attention while Kanani, on the other hand, had too much on her mind to even pay attention to the lecture at hand. As soon as class was over, Kanani took one last look at her classroom before leaving, it would be her last time ever seeing it. Heero looked at her and he knew how she felt, he had never stayed in one place too long and this was going to be hard for her. He was used to it but the first time was never the easiest. He put an arm around her shoulder and said, "Come on, let's go."

With those words, he guided her out of the class and back down the hall. "Heero, can we go someplace before we go?"

He turned and looked at her and said, "Sure, where would you like to go?"

"The little grass knoll over by the terrace, it has a beautiful view of the valley," she said wistfully.

Heero nodded and they headed off to the gardens. When they got there, they took a spot on the grass and sat peacefully. They both just sat there, admiring the breathtaking view of the valley below. "This place is so beautiful, I wish we didn't have to leave it," Kanani said as she sighed. "The damn IRA," she spat out bitterly.

"Kanani?" 

Tears slowly welled up in her eyes. "I'm fine Heero. I'm just saying good-bye to my somewhat normal life."

"I said good-bye to that when I was first born. You're lucky Kanani, at least you still have the chance to live a normal life after all of this is over. For me on the other hand, I will never have that option," Heero said as he looked ahead at the valley below.

"You still have a chance to lead a normal life Heero, you're only 18, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't give up now."

Heero just turned at her and smiled slightly, he definitely wanted to live a normal life after this was all over. "Hey Heero?"

"Yeah?"

"When all of this is all over, let's say that you and I lead a normal life together, I mean as friends. No bodyguard and protectee, none of that, just a good old friendship," Kanani said cheerfully, hoping in her heart for the answer she wanted to hear.

Heero just smiled at the proposition and said, "It's a deal."

Kanani smiled broadly and leaned her head against his shoulder, looking up at him from the corner of her eye. Heero looked down at her and smiled with his eyes, deep down in his heart, he was hoping that one day they could have a relationship stronger than friendship alone. Kanani saw that odd look in his eyes and said, "What's wrong Heero, you're looking at me funny?" she said, catching him a little off guard.

"Oh nothing," was all he said.

Kanani then gave him a peck on the cheek. "For a man of so few words, you sure are a great guy."

He chuckled at her little joke and didn't say anymore. The two enjoyed the rest of the day on that hill, knowing very well that they will probably never see it again. After they watched the sunset, they headed back to grab something to eat in the cafeteria before they left. Soon after, they headed back to Kanani's room to await their departure. 

It was a cold night so Kanani layered herself in some warm clothes. She put on a pair of jeans along with thermals, a snug long sleeve turtle neck sweater, and a jacket. She had put all of her stuff in a backpack, she was ready to go. Heero double checked everything that they would need and had and at the stroke of midnight, they were off. He took Kanani by the hand and said, "Let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 7

Heero and Kanani slipped out quietly from the school, taking the back way through the gardens. With the moon and stars as their light, they wove their way through the flowers and the bushes to the hillside where they were only hours before. "This is it Kanani, the way out. There's no turning back now. Please try to stay close," he said as he held her hand tightly. They side-stepped their way down the steep hill, both trying their best to keep from falling. Just before they reached the bottom, Kanani's foot got caught in a hole and her ankle twisted. She sufficed a yelp by biting her lip hard and then continued on, she didn't want to slow them down none. Heero had no idea she was hurt as they walked rapidly through the thick brush into town. She tried to ignore the sharp pains that shot up through her leg, but it was almost impossible to do so. All she wanted to do was cry, but she marched on, this was the last thing she needed to happen. 

As they cleared the brush, they came upon the outskirts of the town and paused for a brief moment. Kanani was somewhat relieved at the stop as she lifted her ankle slightly off of the ground to relieve some of the pressure. "We will stay in an inn tonight and leave by train first thing in the morning," Heero said as he glanced down the street at a local lodge.

"Ok," was all she said. She was afraid that if she said anymore, Heero would be able to detect the pain in her voice.

They both walked towards the lodge where Heero managed to get them a room on the top floor. Since there were no elevators, they had to climb up a few flights of stairs to get to their room. Kanani's lip was sore and practically bloody because of her constant biting, she couldn't stand the pain much longer, she had to sit down. They finally got to their room at the end of the hall and as soon as Heero opened the door, Kanani threw herself on the bed, relieving herself only slightly of her agonizing pain. She peeled off her outer clothes and went into the bathroom to change into her pajamas. It was then while she was in the bathroom that she let the tears flow freely. Kanani splashed her face with some cool water to calm herself down a bit and then walked out of the bathroom. 

Heero had already changed and was wearing just his draw-string pajama bottoms. He had folded back the sheets of the bed and was getting ready to settle down. Kanani looked over at the nightstand beside the bed and saw Heero's gun. "Prepared aren't you?" she said quietly as she took a seat on the bed. 

"When there's a life on the line, you can never be too prepared," Heero said as he looked at her, her face looked tired and worried. "Don't worry Kanani, everything is going to be all right," he said trying his best to reassure her.

She just smiled slightly as she brought her legs up on the bed, her face grimacing in pain. Heero looked at her and then saw her ankle, it was black and blue and swollen to the size of a cantaloupe. "Kanani, what happened?" Heero asked wide-eyed.

"Oh it's nothing, don't worry about it," she said acting as if nothing was really wrong.

"Dammit, when did this happen?" he asked, his voice filled with underlying worry.

"When we were walking down the hill. My foot got caught in a hole and I twisted it," she said coyly as she stared down at the bed.

"You mean to tell me that you walked all of the way here with a sprained ankle? Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Heero said rather angrily.

"I didn't want to slow us down," she said softly.

Heero looked at her, his eyes began to soften as he realized what she had done for him. He kneeled down in front of her and gently lifted her chin up to meet his gaze. "You know you could have hurt yourself even more by doing that. I'm not angry at you Kanani, I just wish you would have told me," Heero said soothingly, his voice putting her at ease.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Don't worry about it, now let's get some ice on it and elevate it for tonight, we want to get some of the swelling down before tomorrow," Heero said as he stood back up. "I'll go down to the lobby and get some ice, stay here."

"I don't think I will be going anywhere," she replied.

Heero turned and smiled slightly and headed out the door to get some ice. When he got back, he had a bag of ice and a packet of pain killers. "Here take these, they will help take away some of the pain," Heero said as he handed her the pills and a glass of water. He pulled a towel from the bathroom and used it to secure the ice onto her ankle. He then grabbed a few cushions from the chair in the corner of the room and used them to prop her ankle up on the bed. She laid her head back onto the pillow as Heero settled down next to her. "The swelling should go down by morning. We need to get a good night's sleep, we have a long day ahead of us," Heero said just as he reached to turn off the light.

"Thank you again Heero," Kanani whispered in the dark.

"No thanks needed. Goodnight," he replied.

"Nite." The pain killers soon took affect and Kanani was out like a light. After she was asleep, Heero followed her cue. 

During the wee hours of the morning, Kanani woke up as nature had called. 'Damn, how the heck am I going to get out of bed without waking him up,' Kanani thought as she analyzed the situation. Her bladder was in dire need of a releasing and she couldn't wait until morning. She slowly lifted her ankle off of the pillow and carefully swung it over the edge of the bed. She threw her other leg over the edge of the bed and sat up, preparing herself to stand up. The only problem was that even though the swelling went down in her ankle, the slightest touch sent sharp pains up her leg. She couldn't wait though, she had to go to the bathroom and she wasn't about to wake up Heero to ask him for help. Kanani decided to brave the pain once more and stood up to go to the restroom. The minute she stood up, her ankle gave away causing her to fall forward on to the floor with a loud thud. "Dammit," she cursed silently as she grabbed her ankle. Kanani popped her head up to see if Heero was awake. Seeing that he had not stirred, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you ever think of asking for help?" Heero muttered sleepily.

Heero rolled over and turned on the light by the bed. He saw Kanani sitting indian style on the floor holding her ankle as she tried to hold back the tears that were just waiting to flow. Heero sat up and looked at her sleepily, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said trying to hide the pain.

"Why didn't you just wake me, I could have helped you," he said, with a slight grin on his face.

"I don't need help to go to the bathroom, I'm not an invalid you know. Plus you always complain of me waking you up," she retorted.

Kanani then got on all fours and crawled to the bathroom. Heero was trying his best to suppress a smile, she sure was stubborn, and she wasn't about to ask for help. She nudged the bathroom door shut with her head and began the difficult task of getting up without putting any pressure on her ankle. Heero listened to her as she cursed softly as she tried to maneuver herself off of the ground, he was becoming quite amused by all of this. After many futile attempts, Kanani was able to relieve her discomfort and go back to sleep. She saw the slight glow of light from underneath the bathroom door, Heero was still up and waiting for her to get back to bed. 'Damn, he must be really getting a kick out of this,' she thought as she opened the door and saw Heero sitting on the edge of the bed just staring at her. "Are you sure you don't want any help?" he asked her with a smug expression on his face.

"Yes I'm sure," Kanani said as she tried to stand up again. She stood on her one leg and still not having learned her lesson, she put her other leg down and her ankle gave out again but instead of hitting the floor, Heero caught her around the waist in mid air. "You just don't give up do you?" he said as he turned her around, his voice filled with amusement.

Kanani looked up at him and her face turned beet red from embarrassment. She looked away as Heero then picked her up in his arms to get her off of her feet. Heero looked down at her and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kanani replied in defeat as she looked up into his deep blue eyes. They both sparkled brilliantly with kindness and caring but were partially covered by his unruly hair. She smiled and gently lifted her hand up to brush his dark brown locks away from his eyes. Her hand softly caressed his face as she brought it back down. "Thank you Heero."

He looked down at her and smiled slightly. "Don't worry about it. Now let's get some sleep ok?"

Heero carried her back over to the bed and laid her down carefully as he propped her foot back up on the pillows. He laid down beside her and shut off the light. "Are you comfortable?" Heero asked her as she finally settled down. 

"Yeah, I think so. I just hope I am able to walk in the morning," she whispered.

"Don't worry about that now, I will think of something. Get some sleep," were Heero's last words to her as he shut his eyes. After a moment of silence, Heero looked back over at her and saw that she was asleep again. 'Strange how she gets to me. Every time she touches me I feel warm. Does this mean I truly care about her or am I just disillusioned? Now I know why they told me to vanquish my emotions, they have caused me nothing but trouble and confusion. But these feelings have to mean something, but what?' Those were Heero's last thoughts just before he drifted off into slumber.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kanani was awakened by a gentle nudging at her side. She opened her eyes to see Heero already out of bed, dressed and ready to go. "How are you feeling?" was the first thing that he asked.

Kanani moved her ankle slightly and a dull ache encased her ankle. "It still hurts, but not like last night. Hey look, the swelling has gone down," she said as she pointed her ankle up at him.

"Good, do you think you can walk at all?"

"I don't know, let me try standing up first," Kanani said as she slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed. She put her good foot down first and then her bad one. As she stood up, she could feel the pain pulsate throughout her ankle once again. "Heero, it still hurts," Kanani said as she sat back down on the bed, gently massaging her partially swollen ankle.

"Well for now, I'm going to just have to wrap your ankle tight for support. You should be able to walk on it long enough to get on the train. When we get on the train, I'm going to ice your ankle again until the swelling goes down completely. I don't want to take anymore chance, especially when it involves the IRA," Heero said as he slipped his gun in the back of his jeans underneath his jacket. "Get dressed and I will wrap your ankle, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Kanani nodded and hobbled over to the bathroom to get dressed. As soon as she got back out, Heero dressed her ankle with medical tape and an ace bandage. "There, that should do for right now. Are you ready?"

Kanani looked up at him and nodded. "Good, let's get going," Heero said as he took her hand to help her up off of the bed. With her backpack slung over her shoulder, the two left the hotel and headed to the train despot. Kanani paused in front of the train and asked Heero, "Where are we going Heero?"

"Belgium."

"Belgium?"

"It's a small country right in the middle of Europe. It is the last place they will be looking. It should buy us plenty of time until we get everything taken care of. Let's go, we need to board our train," Heero said as he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up in to the train. Kanani took one last look at her old home before turning her back and following Heero. 

Heero had their own private cabin towards the back of the train so they could both get some rest. He helped Kanani inside the cabin and onto the small couch. He propped Kanani's foot back up and iced it again. "Comfortable?" he asked as he sat down across from her.

"Yeah," she said wistfully as she looked out the window just as the train began to move.

"Just get some rest, it will be awhile before we reach our destination. I will keep an eye out ok?"

Kanani just smiled slightly and shut her eyes, the journey has now begun.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 8

Silence hung heavy in the train car as Heero gazed aimlessly out the window at the passing scenery. Numerous thoughts lingered through his mind, many of them focusing on the sleeping girl across from him. 'Wish she would have told me about that ankle, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but I wonder why she didn't tell me? Is it because she doesn't want me to think of her as weak or is it something else? Damn that girl, she confuses the hell out of me,' those being only a few of the thoughts running through Heero's head. Heero then recalled the night before and how Kanani's stubbornness had left him with another battle to fight within himself. 

He had caught her in his arms to prevent her from falling, she was too stubborn to ask for help even though the pain was clearly visible on her face. He gently turned her around in his arms to ask her if she was ok, then he saw the look in her eyes soften. It was not the same defiant look he had seen only moments before when he offered her help, it was something completely different. Her deep emerald eyes seem to capture his gaze, the depths of everlasting green causing him to lose all rational thought. Her features were gentle and her skin had a subtle glow emanating from it. He just wanted to reach out and touch her, to gently run his hand across her face and to glide his hands through her long ruby hair, all the while inhaling its intoxicating perfume. However, before he could have any future thought, a voice inside told him to stop. 'Don't be blinded by your emotions, they will only bring you trouble,' the voice resonated within his mind continuously. She then caught him off guard and played upon his thoughts and brought her hand up to brush the hair way from his eyes . As she brought her hand back down, the backside of her fingers caressed his skin ever so gently. The soft touch upon his face had sent a burning sensation throughout his body. He wanted to react to her touch, to return the feelings she had obviously shown to him.

'Does she really care about me?' Heero thought and then remembered all of the times they had spent with each other, all of the memories they shared within such a short period of time. He remembered the simple gestures of kindness that she always bestowed upon him, they were always so subtle but he knew what they were. Then there were all of the times when she would pour her soul out to him and weep continuously on to his chest, putting her full faith and trust in him. No matter how hard he tried not to, she always seemed to make him smile, even though sometimes he would never show it. For some reason, he always felt better around her, like he belonged. For the first time in his life he felt something for someone, now if only he could figure out what it was. 'Do I care about her?' 

Heero sighed and opened his eyes and continued looking back out the window, hoping to find some answers. That little voice in his head kept speaking to him, telling him what he was thinking and doing was not right. 'Why is it so wrong to feel this way? I know I must protect her but is that all this will ever be? No, it has to be more than that, it just has to be. I wish this wasn't so confusing,' Heero thought. He then heard a slight rustling sound beside him. Kanani was trembling in her sleep her face grimacing slightly, she was having another one of her nightmares. 'She doesn't deserve this, all of this pain and suffering, hasn't she had enough? Why can't she just live a normal life?'

Heero got up and sat beside her. He gently put her head in his lap and put his arm around her to comfort her. Her trembling slowly stopped and her face softened back up as he tenderly stroked her hair. He gently brushed a few strands of hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. As he looked at her, he felt a strange feeling well up inside him, a burning sensation residing in the pit of his stomach. Without giving it an ounce of rational thought, he slowly closed his eyes and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, his lips meeting her skin with such care. Kanani remained unfazed as she continued to sleep soundly, Heero on the other hand, experienced something much more. The burning feeling inside him only seemed to grow stronger when his lips met her skin, like adding more fuel to the fire. 

At that moment in time, Heero finally realized the true depths of his emotions deep within. He looked down at her and smiled slightly. 'I guess I never did lose my emotions. They were just locked away for so long and I could never seem to find the key, I just didn't know what to look for. But now, I think I have found that key, it is in her. I do care about her,' Heero concluded for he was finally able to sort out his true feelings for Kanani.

Heero leaned his head back up against the wall of the car as he looked back out the window, a small smile spread across his lips. Hours passed by as he continued to stare blankly out the window, Kanani still fast asleep within his arms. He then felt a sudden movement in his lap as Kanani's head turned upward to face him. "How long was I asleep?" she said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"About 3 hours. Feel better?"

"Much. Besides having a bad dream, I feel fine. The strange thing about it all was the fact that right during the middle of my dream, a bright light came and washed away the horror and left me with a feeling of warmth and ease. It was really strange," she said in a daze. Heero's heart jumped slightly as he realized what might have happened. "Heero, I know this may sound out of the blue, but would you ever risk your life for me?" 

"Of course, it's my job," he said bluntly.

"Oh, I see," she replied rather sadly as she turned her head sideways away from him. Heero noticed the sudden change in tone and looked down at her. "I don't want you to put your life in the way of mine," she said just above a whisper.

"Kanani, that is my choice, nothing you say or do will change my mind," he replied.

She turned her head back up to face him. "Heero, your life is just as valuable as mine. There is no reason to put your life ahead of mine when yours is just as precious." She then gently put her hand on his face and said, "You deserve a chance to start over Heero, please don't throw your life away because of me. If I die, then so be it, lead your life as if it never happened, that is the way one must live."

Heero couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'Does she care so much about me that she would put her own life before mine?' Heero thought as he listened to her words. He then placed his hand on top of hers and replied, "Why risk your life for mine when you have a father who loves you and a place to return home to? I have nothing to go back to."

Kanani smiled and ran her hand through his unruly hair and said, "If it matters at all, I will always be here for you to come back to."

Heero just smiled and replied, "Well I guess that's better than nothing."

"Oh, I see how it is," she retorted sarcastically.

Heero chuckled and carefully brought his hand up to her face and smoothed a few strands of hairs behind her ears. He looked her tenderly in the eyes and in a faint voice he told her, "Of course it matters."

Kanani smiled and sat up slightly nestling her head up against his chest. Heero casually wrapped his arms around her and held her closely. Heero rested his chin delicately upon her head as he breathed in the intoxicating scent of vanilla emanating from her hair. Heero then closed his eyes in contentment. 'Will he be nothing more than a body guard to me?' Kanani thought as she looked up from the corner of her eye at him. 'I care so much about him but am I just a job to him? It feels as if something is there but I'm not sure of what to make of it. He's so gentle with me but then sometimes he's all duty. I wish I knew what going on in that head of his but reading his mind would be an invasion of his privacy, I could never do that to him. God this is all so confusing.'

As sweet silence ensued them, Heero suddenly felt her eyes upon him and looked back down at her. "Is something the matter?" Heero inquired at the curious eyes below him.

"Heero, why this job when you could have just as easily started over with your life?"

"To be honest, it's the only thing I really know how to do."

"What are you going to do when this is all over? You can't protect me all of your life you know."

"Hn," Heero grunted with a rather disappointed look on his face

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kanani responded to Heero's very short yet meaningless reply.

"I'll protect you as long as I have to and when it's all over, I will leave you be," Heero stated dryly.

"That's not what I meant Heero," Kanani said as she gently placed her hand on his. 'Does he think I don't want him around anymore? Oh man, I think I hurt his feelings, damn it Kanani, you did it this time,' she mentally cursed herself.

Heero knew she was right though, he couldn't protect her all of his life, eventually this will all be over and he would be back at square one. After guaranteeing her safety for life, she would be off on her way and he would become a wonderer once again. Heero sighed and looked down into Kanani's pleading eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I can't protect you all of my life but if I have to, I will," Heero stated plainly.

Without thinking about her next words, Kanani sighed softly and said just above a whisper, "I guess this is all it will ever be."

Kanani didn't know she said those words out loud, they were so faint that she thought they were just in her mind. Little did she know, Heero heard her almost inaudible words. At first he didn't know what they meant, he thought she was just thinking out loud to herself. Then he thought about her words carefully and the light bulb finally went on in his head. 'She does care about me, but she probably thinks that this will just be another job to me, that she's just another one of my missions. Damn it, I really screwed up this time. Now that I have finally come to terms with my feelings for the first time in my life, I botch up everything. I have to let her know how feel, but how?' Heero thought as he looked down at her, she had fallen asleep once again. 'Guess I will have to wait to tell her,' he thought as he shut his eyes once again.


	9. Chapter 9

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 9

The rest of the train ride remained silent as Heero submerged himself in his own thoughts. Kanani, without a care in the world, nuzzled her head in to his chest, still emerged in peaceful slumber. The train came to a slow and steady halt, slightly jolting forward as it braked, which was enough to wake Kanani and snap Heero out of his own little day dream. Kanani sat up and looked out the window of the train and read the sign hanging from the ceiling of the depot. "Welcome to Brussels."

"Are we staying here?" Kanani turned and asked Heero.

"No, we are going to catch a bus to Bruges, a city close to the North Sea. How is your ankle?" Heero answered.

"It doesn't hurt anymore but I haven't tried walking on it yet," she replied as she threw her legs over the side of the seat. She placed her good foot down first in an attempt to stand. As she put her other foot down, a dull pain throbbed in her ankle. Kanani stood up, but just barely, and Heero was quickly by her side to give her support.

"The bus station isn't far from here, actually, it's right across the street so you won't have to walk very far," Heero told her as he aided her out of the train car. 

Kanani only nodded as Heero helped her off of the train and on to the platform. "Heero, I think I can make it to the bus station from here, honest," Kanani said with a meek smile forming on her lips.

It didn't take a genius to figure out she was lying. He could tell just by the underlying pain in her voice. Heero then noticed something about the look in her eyes. There seemed to be something missing from them. They just appeared to be so empty, almost completely lifeless. The sparkle and the emotion that once was in them, seemed to have disappeared. "Kanani, are you ok?" Heero asked with evident concern in his voice.

"I'm fine Heero," she replied flatly. "Come, we have a bus to catch," she said tossing her bag over her shoulder.

Heero knew something was wrong, she read like an open book. He knew it had something to do with the train ride and the conversation that took place. He could still remember the faint words that came from her lips, 'I guess this is all it will ever be.' That phrase resounded in his mind like a broken record. Lost in his own thoughts, Heero never noticed the retreating form of Kanani hobbling out of the depot. After a few minutes, realization hit. "Kanani? Dammit, where did she go?" Heero cursed as he popped his head up in to the crowd to look for her. 

"She couldn't have gone far with that ankle," he concluded as he rummaged through the crowd frantically.

It didn't take long for Heero to find her, the loud "Shit" gave it all away. Heero ran towards the sound and came upon a young girl sitting right in the middle of the depot floor, legs strewn out in front of her and her back pack at her side. Heero stood in front of her and looked down and crossed his arms across his chest. Kanani looked up, she knew he was there and her face burned hot with embarrassment. "Not a word," she muttered. With a smug smile on his face, Heero gave her his hand to help her up and she hesitantly took it. Without one word said, Heero put his arm around her and helped her out the door to the bus station. 

As they walked across the street, Kanani hung her head and uttered softly, "Heero, I'm sorry."

"I've got one word for you, stubborn," Heero said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"You know me," she replied weakly with a smile.

"Afraid so, now let's get out of here before you try and run out on me again," Heero retorted as he escorted her towards the bus depot.

Kanani just smiled at his snide comment, she didn't need this at the moment, her ankle felt like pins and needles. "It will be a few minutes before the bus comes, have a seat and get off of your feet," Heero commanded as he pointed to the small wooden bench outside the bus terminal. Kanani gladly took a seat and relieved herself for the time being. Minutes later, a large red bus rolled in. Next destination, Bruges. 

Heero stuffed their things in to the cargo bay below the bus and helped Kanani aboard the bus. He then led her towards the very back to find them both a seat. There, instead of the usual two seats, were three.

"Let's sit here, that way you can elevate your leg and have a little privacy also," Heero told her and Kanani only nodded in agreement. 

Heero took the seat by the window and Kanani leaned up against him, propping her feet on to the arm rest. Within seconds, the bus roared off to its next destination.

"Heero, how far to Bruges?" she asked as she turned to look up at him.

"About an hour I think," he said as he looked aimlessly at the passing scenery through the window.

"Why are we going there? Brussels would have been just fine," Kanani inquired.

"Bruges is close to the North Sea, and if need be, we can easily slip out of the country. Plus, it's a beautiful city and I thought you might like it," he concluded as he took a second to look down at her for a reaction to his last statement.

A smirk crossed her face and she replied, "Do you think so?"

"Yeah, I figured if we were going to hide out for awhile that we might as well do it in a beautiful place," Heero responded.

"Funny, you would never think we were running from a bunch of IRA terrorists," Kanani retorted.

Heero gently took her face between his hands and looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Don't think for one minute that I forgot the reason why I am protecting you. The thought of those bastards has never left my mind Kanani. I'm doing this for you, can't you see that?"

She casted her gaze downwards from his and in a hushed voice replied, "Are you?"

"What?" Heero said in astonishment, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Who else would I be doing this for?"

"No one, it's your job, that's all. The world revolves around money Heero. People don't do things for the sheer enjoyment of it all or for the sake of humanity. Greed makes the world go round, without money, there would be no motivation. It's the truth and you know it," she told him in a flat, yet quiet tone of voice.

Heero listened wide-eyed to the words that spewed from her mouth. Every word that she said was true, but what was making her say all of this? 'This doesn't sound like the Kanani I know. Her words were filled with so much bitterness and resentment and it seemed to be directed towards me. Whatever feelings she had for me she has discarded or pushed aside. She's set on the idea of me not giving a rats ass about her and that she's just 'another mission' to me. This is crap. Reading my mind doesn't give her the authority to know what I've been through. She has no idea how hard this has all been for me, to discover the emotions within myself, to decipher them and figure out what they all mean. I can't just tell someone how I feel if I'm not sure of the feeling myself. She may have seen it, but she didn't feel inside me, my emotions. That's it, this has gone on far enough,' Heero concluded in his mind.

"Your silence affirms it," she remarked.

"You don't know shit about me Kanani," Heero spat out. "I don't know where the hell you came to the conclusion that I fit into that stereo type. Skimming a book doesn't give you the whole story Kanani, you have to read a little more into the pages before you can see the entire picture."

"Heero, I..." she stammered apologetically.

"You've said enough now just be quiet and enjoy the ride," Heero told her rather calmly.

Kanani turned her head back around and closed her eyes. An overwhelming feeling of guilt started to brew inside of her. 'How could I let my emotions take over like that? I can't believe I said that to him after all he's done for me. I know he doesn't care for me in the way I'd hoped him to, but that doesn't mean I can be so cruel to him. I think I will just keep my mouth shut, I've said enough.'

The awkward silence between the two of them seemed to make the rather short bus ride seem longer. Heero just continued to stare out the window with a vacant expression on his face. He couldn't believe what he had said, but he still couldn't understand the full intentions of Kanani's initial words either. 'Is she really that bitter towards me or is it just a charade? I must talk to her tonight about it, I can't let this go on forever. She's been this way ever since the train ride and I'm not going to let her believe that all of these assumptions she has towards me are true.' A sign then flashed by Heero's eyes that told him that they were almost there. 

It was getting late and the afternoon sun had started its assent in the sky, bringing with it the first shades of dusk. He shifted slightly in his seat causing Kanani to stir beside him. The only thing she could do that day was sleep and she knew she would have a hell of a time trying to fall asleep later that night. He gently nudged her with his elbow and whispered, "We're almost there, just a few more minutes."

Kanani slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She then popped her head out down the aisle to look out the front window of the bus. From there she could see the approaching vision of a city, Bruges. She couldn't make much of it now though since it was nearing night fall. Kanani slid back into her seat and turned to face Heero who returned the glance. He looked at her with calm eyes and a plain expression on his face. "Heero?"

"Hn?"

"Why do you take so much crap from me?" she inquired innocently.

"I have to. You're lucky though, I don't take this kind of crap from just anyone," he replied.

Those words made Kanani feel a little better but guilt still loomed within her. She then gave him a gently hug around his waist and whispered into his chest, "I'm so sorry."

It was then that Heero could feel his shirt starting to dampen with the fall of fresh tears. Heero looked down as little sparkles glistened off of Kanani's cheeks. Her eyes were shut but a hint of a smile had formed on her face. He leaned his head upon hers and said softly, "Do you feel better now?"

She lifted her head up from his chest and with tears still in her eyes, nodded. "Now wipe those tears from your eyes, we're here," Heero told her just as the bus started to slow down.

Kanani sniffled as she gently wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes with her sleeve. As soon as the bus came to a complete stop, with the aid of Heero, Kanani slowly stood up and made her way down the aisle towards the front of the bus. Heero got out just before her to help her down off of the bus. After they collected their things, Heero looked around to get a sense of where he was at. "So Heero, where are we staying at?" Kanani said as she took in her surroundings.

"In an little old place down by the Bruges canal, I think you might like it," Heero said suddenly taking her hand. "Come, follow me."

At a slow hobble, Kanani pursued Heero without really a choice. Night had just fallen and the lights of the city went to work lighting up the streets. They slowly walked down the stone covered streets admiring the medieval architecture of the old city. Heero then came to a halt in front of an old two story building adorned in gothic architecture. "Well, here we are," he stated as he looked the building up and down.

"What is this place?" Kanani replied wide-eyed at the marvel before her.

"It's basically a townhouse. Come, let's go inside," Heero said as he dug in his pocket for a key.

"How did you acquire such a place Heero?" 

"It belongs to an old friend. He only uses it when he's on business trips. He has a place everywhere," Heero told her as he opened up the door.

"Must be nice to have so much money," she rebutted.

"Not always, now come inside," Heero said as he took her hand and pulled her inside.

He flicked on the lights and the place just lit up. They stepped inside the entry way and were confronted by a beautiful mahogany staircase and a long hallway that laid parallel to it. To the right and left, lay two rooms on each side of the entry just as you walked in. Kanani took in her surroundings and her jaw practically dropped to the floor. The place had the look of a older building but it had all of the modern conveniences of the day. "Wow, this place is amazing," Kanani said, as she plopped down on one of the giant leather sofas in the living room.

"Yeah, but this is nothing. Let me show you to your room so you can get settled in. You can explore the rest of the house tomorrow."

"Can you help me up? I'm practically stuck in this oversize couch," she pleaded as she attempted to get up.

Heero just rolled his eyes and pulled her up off of the couch. "Do you want me to carry you up to your room too?" he said sarcastically.

She only smiled and replied, "Only if you want to."

Without a moment's notice, Heero slung Kanani over his shoulder and took her up the stairs to her room. "I was only kidding Heero."

"It's faster this way any ways. By the way, here we are," Heero said as he eased her off of his shoulder.

Heero turned on the light to Kanani's bedroom and a small smile tugged at his lips when he saw Kanani's reaction. "This is insane Heero, this room is bigger than my own house!"

"You haven't seen mine yet," he replied smugly but Kanani didn't hear him as she threw herself on her queen-sized feather bed.

"I could get used to this," she sighed as she closed her eyes in bliss. 

"You even have your own bathroom and a balcony as well. I'm going to go take a shower, call me if you need anything," Heero told her.

"Ok."

Heero shut the door behind him and went to his bedroom across the hall to take a shower. Kanani opened her eyes and decided to check out the view from the balcony. She carefully opened the French doors and a chill wind blew in against her face. She inhaled the cold air and looked up at the night sky above that was covered in a sea of stars. Then the sound of water caught her ear and she looked down to see a beautiful canal below her, "Well Heero did say it was by a canal, didn't know it was this close though."

She turned her head to look back inside and took a quick look at the bathroom. "Heero has the right idea, a shower sure sounds good right now."

Kanani then turned on her heal and walked back inside, shutting the doors behind her. She softly padded across the large room to the bathroom and slowly opened the door. A huge smile spread across her face when she saw that her bathroom was done in a roman bath style. "Does this guy have taste or what?"

She pealed off her clothes and turned the water on in the shower. As she stepped in the shower, the hot water pelted her skin lightly, sending chills up and down her spine. "This is just what the doctor ordered," she sighed blissfully as she massaged the shampoo into her hair. 'I think I'm going back out onto the balcony after this, it had a breathtaking view.'

After indulging herself in a twenty-minute shower, she stepped out and toweled herself off. As soon as she put a pair of old jeans and a sweatshirt on, she tied her hair up and went back outside. The wind seemed even colder as it danced in her hair. As she leaned up against the railing, she closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet perfume of the air. Inside, Heero had just peered in her room to check up on her only to find her not there. He then noticed the balcony doors opened. 'Somehow I knew she would be out there,' he thought with a grin on his face.

Heero walked inside her room and inhaled the scent of shampoo that filled the room. He quietly walked out on to the balcony, not wanting to scare Kanani. "Kanani?" he muttered softly.

"Hey Heero, beautiful night isn't it?" 

He leaned up against the railing beside her and replied, "Kanani, I need to talk to you."

Those words got her full attention and she turned around to face him. "What is it Heero?"

"Do the words 'I guess this is all it will ever be' ring a bell?"

Kanani turned away from him and replied softly, "I didn't think you heard them."

Heero put his hand under her chin to bring her face up to his. "Of course I did and at first I didn't know what they meant but it didn't take long for me to figure them out."

"I'm sorry Heero, they weren't meant to be heard."

He gently put his hand against her face and said, "Did you actually think that you were just another job for me? Kanani, ever since I've met you, I've been struggling to decipher this whirlwind of emotions inside of me. Emotions aren't a familiar thing in my life so it took me a while to figure out what they all meant. I was so mixed up inside and now I can see it as clear as day."

Without another word, Heero took her lips with his in a soft and sweet kiss. After he broke away, Kanani looked at him awkwardly. "Heero?" she uttered just about a whisper.

"I love you Kanani," he said as he gently kissed her forehead.

Tears began to fall freely down her face, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Do you really mean it?"

Heero kissed her again but this time more deeply and passionately. He slowly broke away and placed his forehead on hers and whispered. "Does that answer your question?"

She just smiled and wrapped her arms around him nuzzling her head in his chest. He embraced her and just rested his head on top of hers. 'Funny, I thought this was going to be a lot harder,' he said to himself as he looked up at the stars above him.

"Heero?"

"Yes?"

"Can you hold me like this for eternity?"

"You don't have to ask twice."


	10. Chapter 10

Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 10

The cold breeze blew softly through their hair as they stood there on the balcony holding each other tightly. Both were just content to be in each other's arms at that moment in time. Heero gently placed his cheek against hers and felt the coldness of her skin meld with his. "Kanani, let's get you inside, it's getting cold out here," Heero whispered in her ear.

She fell back slightly into his embrace and sighed, "I'm fine Heero, besides, it's gorgeous out here. Who could ask for a more perfect view?"

"Yeah, well I don't want you catching cold. That is, unless you want to walk around town tomorrow feeling completely miserable," he replied sarcastically.

She turned around in his arms and looked him in the eyes. With a slight smile on her face, she placed her finger upon his lips and said, "Fine."

Kanani then wriggled free of his hold and leaned over the side of the balcony railing. She gazed down at the moon stricken water and closed her eyes momentarily. Heero came up from behind and grabbed her around the waist. "Maybe just a few minutes longer," he whispered against her skin, the warmth sending a tingling sensation throughout her body.

"Heero?" she said as she placed her hand on his.

"Hm?"

"I love you too."

He then placed a gentle kiss on her temple and held her a little tighter. The sweet scent of her shampoo was intoxicating his senses. A slight sound caught Heero's attention, the subtle sound of yawning. He looked down at the girl beside him as she just closed her mouth. "Am I that boring?" Heero whispered sarcastically.

Kanani giggled slightly and replied, "It's been a longer day than I thought."

"Well you slept most of the time so I don't know how you can be that tired," he retorted sweetly.

"Yeah well, I had too much on my mind to really get some sound sleep but now I feel a lot better."

Catching her off guard, Heero picked her up in his arms and carried her back inside her bedroom and carefully laid her on the bed. "I have legs you know," she remarked.

Heero just smiled as he walked over to lock the balcony doors and close the curtains. Kanani had settled down under the covers as Heero came over and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. "Are you going to be ok for tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah I think so. Hey Heero, let's go out tomorrow night after we see the town, like a date. I could even buy a dress."

He brushed the hair away from her face and tucked it tenderly behind her ears. With a soft look in his eyes, he replied, "Sounds good. Now get some sleep ok?"

She just smiled as he placed a sweet kiss on her forehead. He then got up and walked towards the door. Just before turning off the lights, he turned to her and said, "If you need me, I'm right across the hall. Goodnight Kanani."

"Goodnight." And with those words, Heero turned off the lights and closed the door behind him.

Heero shuffled back towards his room then opening the door to go inside. After shutting the door behind him, he stood there in the dark for a moment and closed his eyes. 'I'm glad that went well. I don't know what I would have done if I got the opposite reaction,' he thought as he opened his eyes back up and walked over towards his bed. He peeled off his clothes that fell in a pool at his feet and nestled himself under the covers. He laid there with his hands behind his head just staring straight up at the ceiling. 'Now that I have her, I don't ever want to lose her,' was his last thought before he fell asleep.

Morning came and Heero was the first to rise. He looked at his alarm clock as it read 7am. A smirk appeared across his face as he realized how much fun it would be to wake up Kanani, she definitely wasn't a morning person. He got out of bed and quickly got himself dressed. Heero quietly exited the room, shutting the door ever so softly behind him. He opened Kanani's door just a crack, enough for him to see if she was awake. To no avail, there she was, fast asleep in her bed. Heero padded softly across the room to the balcony doors and the curtains that covered them. Through a tiny slit in the tapestry, he could see the bright sunlight just waiting to pour into the room. Another smile spread across his face as he threw open the drapes allowing the sunlight to flood the room. "Heero!" Kanani whined as she rolled over in bed pulling the covers over her head.

"Good morning," he replied almost too cheerfully. He was going to get a kick out of this.

"It's too early Heero, give me another hour," she moaned.

Heero walked over towards her side of the bed and gently lifted the covers away from her head. What he saw was a pair of sleep filled eyes staring dazily right back at him. A lackadaisical smile appeared on her face, she couldn't resist those eyes of his even though her body was more than willing to do so. Kanani buried her face in her pillow in an effort to go back to sleep, her body was winning this battle. A smug look spread across Heero's face as an evil thought crossed his mind. He put the covers back on her and casually walked over to the other side of the bed. Being too tired to even realize what was going on, Kanani was suddenly pounced on by Heero, causing her to wake up almost instantly. He grabbed a hold of her from behind and pulled her body close to his. Kanani turned her head slightly towards his face with a look of death in her eyes but it soon melted away with just one glance into is midnight blue eyes. "You just couldn't resist could you?" she muttered.

He just smiled and nuzzled his head against her neck giving her a tender kiss. She could smell his intoxicating cologne that still lingered on him from the night before. "So what are we going to do today Heero?" Kanani said as she rolled over in his arms.

With his eyes mere inches from hers, he replied, "Oh I don't know, I'll think of something."

"You'd better. I didn't get up this early for nothing," she said tapping him on the nose.

"Well, first you can go back to sleep for a few more hours, I have a few errands to do," he told her with a smug expression on his face.

He saw her hand reach to grab a pillow and he immediately slid out of the bed just in time to dodge her attack. "Heero!" she yelled as she hurled the pillow at him.

"See you in a few," he said dodging the pillow as he quickly made his way to the door. 

At the same moment the door shut behind him, he heard the muffled thud of a pillow hitting it. With a smirk of delight on his face, he descended the stairs and went out. Kanani just laid there and pulled the blanket back over her head. After a few minutes of trying to go back to sleep, she threw the covers off of her and sat up in bed. "Damn Heero, you knew this would happen," she cursed sleepily. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and got up and made her way towards the bathroom. "Hell, might as well take a bath while he's out doing who knows what." Kanani turned the knobs on the bathtub and drew herself a hot bubble bath.

Heero was out on the streets of Bruges taking in his environment and finding out where everything was. The aroma of fresh bread from the local bakery filled the morning air as the rest of the town started to wake. Heero spotted a little cafe along one side of the street that looked cozy. He walked over to catch a glimpse of the menu. 'Good, they have breakfast. Actually, by the time Kanani is ready, it will be lunch time,' he thought comically. A little ways down the street he saw a little boutique situated at the corner of the street. He meandered towards it and saw that it was a dress shop. Since it wasn't open yet, he peered through the window to see what they had. Something then caught his eye and a smile crept upon his lips. 'Perfect.' Heero then continued to walk down the street to the local florist shop, they were open already. The smell of fresh blossoms invited him into the shop where he was encompassed by a mass of gorgeous flowers. 

"Sir, may I help you?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Yeah, I would like to order a bouquet of these for later this evening. Is that possible?" he said as he pointed to one of the arrangements by the shopkeeper.

"No problem sir, they will be ready for you by 6. You just need to sign this here and you are all set," the man replied as he placed a little yellow slip of paper in front of Heero.

Heero signed the paper and told the shopkeeper, "Thanks."

Heero looked down at his watch and decided to head back towards the house. "Well that takes care of that," he told himself quietly. "Wonder if she's up by now."

Back at the house, Kanani was indulging in a lavender bubble bath. Her head was leaned up against the side cushioned by a little bath pillow. Her eyes were closed, she was completely oblivious to the world around her. Heero had just come home and walked in the door. He made his way up the stairs back to Kanani's room to see if she was up yet. Since he didn't hear anything, he assumed she was still asleep. He opened the door just a crack and peered inside. After he saw that she wasn't in bed, he came inside the room. Heero scanned the room for her and then saw the bathroom door opened just slightly. He quietly made his way across the room and slowly opened the bathroom door. He saw Kanani lying there in the tub with bubbles up to just above her chest and her eyes closed, she had no idea she was being watched. As much as he wanted to hop in the tub with her, he decided to save that for another time. "Didn't think you would be up," he spat out non-chalantly.

Kanani's eyes flew open and she immediately sank down into the tub. "Heero! Have you been watching me this whole time?!"

"No, only for a few minutes," he replied with sarcasm lingering in his voice.

"Dammit Heero, you scared me. I thought it was someone else," she said as the tone of her voice began to mellow.

Heero kneeled beside her and brought his hand up to the side of her face with a gentle touch. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he told her as he gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Hungry?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it. Did you find a place in town?" 

"Yeah but we need to leave soon because I'm not sure how long they will be serving breakfast."

"Ok, just give me a few minutes so I can get out and change. Now if you would excuse me," she said as she shooed him away with her hand.

Heero just chuckled and left, shutting the door behind him. He heard Kanani get out of the tub and drain the bath water as he sat there on the bed waiting for her. A few minutes later, Kanani came out of the bathroom fully dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and light blue turtleneck sweater. She caught sight of Heero and a maniacal grin crossed her face. 'Payback.' Without a seconds warning, Heero was pounced on by Kanani, sending them both into a mass of tangled limbs on the bed. Kanani then rolled over to face Heero and said, "Gotcha."

"I'll let you get away with that for now, but just you wait, tonight, you'll be sorry," Heero threatened her sarcastically.

She stuck her tongue out and replied, "I'm scared."

"You should be. Shall we go?" Heero said as he got up off of the bed.

"Let's," Kanani retorted as she took Heero's hand.

The two headed off to the little cafe down the street. Since it was a beautiful day, the two decided to sit outside on the patio and enjoy the scenery. "This is a nice place Heero, did you find it this morning?" Kanani asked as she took a seat.

"Yeah among other things," he said, but his mind rested elsewhere. 

As Kanani chatted away, Heero pretended to listen, his mind and eyes couldn't leave her. 'I never realized how beautiful she was until now. It's amazing how one's opinions change when they realize how much they really love someone. You start to notice that everything about them is beautiful, not just their looks. But that hair of hers, and those eyes, those eyes I could get lost in forever, and her skin, like velvet to the touch. Why didn't I notice all of this before? Not only is she beautiful on the outside, but her soul mirrors that beauty as well. I guess there is a God after all, or else, how would I end up this happy?' Heero thought but then was quickly zapped back into reality.

"Heero? Are you listening?" Kanani implored as she looked at the far off expression in his eyes.

Heero shook his head slightly and muttered, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Oh nothing. Have you decided what you want to eat?"

"Not yet," Heero replied as he took a look at the menu.

Kanani just rested her chin on her hand and looked at Heero as he scanned over the menu. 'I never thought being in love would be like this. I'm glad he saved me that night or else I would have never known such a wonderful feeling as this. I've got to admit, those intoxicating blue eyes along with his gorgeous hair and body are what drew me in at first, but that's not what I fell in love with. Despite his horrid past, he has a beautiful heart and soul, that is what I fell in love with. I don't think I could ever let go of him, he is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, now until forever,' she concluded mentally as Heero folded up the menu and placed it in front of him.

"Ready to order?" Heero asked.

"Sure thing," Kanani replied, her thoughts still fresh in her mind.

Heero waved the waiter over with his hand and the two ordered their breakfast. Kanani still had a spacy look in her eyes as she stared blankly at the passing scenery. She sighed and said softly, "What a beautiful day, isn't it Heero?"

"Yeah it is. Kanani?" 

"Yes Heero?" she replied as she turned her head to give him her full attention.

"About tonight, we're going to have to do it some other time. Something came up that I have to take care of."

With those words, Heero saw the expression in her face change from elated to melancholic. "Oh, I see," she muttered as she cast her gaze downwards.

Heero reached across the table and took her hand between his and told her, "I'm sorry but hey, we still have the whole day to spend together, isn't that enough?"

She looked up and cracked a smile. "Well I can't say that I'm not disappointed but you're right, we do have a whole day and we should make the most of it."

He brought her hand to his lips and gave her a gentle kiss and smiled. "Thank you for understanding."

Kanani just smiled back. "Well, that didn't take long," Heero said as he saw their waiter approaching with their food.

He gently released her hand right before the waiter put their food in front of them. The two ate rather contentedly the meal that was brought before them. After they were finished, they left the little cafe and headed down the street. "So Heero, where to first?" Kanani asked as she paused at the street corner.

Heero looked over his shoulder at the dress boutique behind him and said, "Well I've got to talk to the owner of this boutique about something. While I'm doing that, you can take a look around inside if you want."

Kanani nodded, "Sure, sounds great."

The two walked into the little corner store and Kanani was immediately taken in by all of the beautiful dresses that they had. Heero walked to the cashier and then the next minute they headed to a room in the back of the shop. 'I wonder if it has anything to do with what he's doing later on today?' Kanani thought as she peered around a dress rack towards the back of the store. Kanani sorted through all of the beautiful and elegant dresses that laid before her. The one thing that really caught her eye was the fact that they were so expensive. 'What I wouldn't give to have one of these dresses,' she thought. She then heard footsteps come back down the hall and saw Heero and the shop owner coming this way. Heero looked in her direction and said, "Ready?"

Kanani just nodded and the two left the store. Heero took her hand and said, "How about a boat right through the old canals of the city?"

Kanani's face lit up and she exclaimed, "Really?!"

"Of course, it's the best way to see the city. Now this way," he replied as he gently tugged her hand in the direction of the canals.

Along the side of a canal, Heero found a quaint little boat rental shop. There they rented a little rowboat just big enough for two people. With that boat, they explored the city through the beautiful canals that ran through it. Heero rowed slowly and smoothly along the water so they could take in the sites to the fullest extent. The two of them stopped briefly at a cafe along one of the canals to have some lunch and then they continued on their way. By the time they saw the city via the canals, the sun was already starting to set. They returned the boat to the rental place and Heero gave his hand to help Kanani out of the boat. "So, how did you like it?" Heero asked as he helped her out of the boat.

As soon as Kanani was out of the boat, she replied, "Oh Heero, it was beautiful. What a perfect way to see the city. Thank you." She then gave him a light kiss on the lips. 

"I don't mean to cut this short but we had better get back, I have stuff to take care of," Heero announced and Kanani just smiled.

"All right, I'm in the mood for a shower any ways," she replied as the two headed off back towards the house.

When the two got back home, Kanani went up stairs to go take a shower but before doing so, Heero told her, "I'll be back in a few, I've got some things to take care of in town. Will you be all right here?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, I'm a big girl," she said winking at him.

He just smiled and walked out the door leaving Kanani to go take her shower. As soon as Heero was out the door, he proceeded quickly down the street to the dress boutique at the corner. As he entered, the owner said, "Here is what you wanted sir, thank you and come back again."

Heero nodded and left the store with a box under his arm and headed towards the florist. As he walked in, the shopkeeper told him, "Your order is ready sir, do you have your yellow slip?"

Heero handed the young man the slip of paper in exchange for his order. With both hands full, Heero nodded his thanks and quickly went back home. When he walked in, he could still hear the shower running up stairs. 'Thank God she takes long showers,' Heero thought as he quickly made his way up the stairs. As quietly as he could, Heero entered her room and laid one of the boxes on Kanani's bed along with a note. He then headed back to his room with the other item under his arm to get himself cleaned up. 

While in the shower, Kanani heard her door shut so she figured Heero was home. When she got out of the shower, she wrapped her hair and body in a towel and cautiously opened the bathroom door. Seeing that no one was in there, she decided to go ahead and get dressed, but before she could do that, a strange box on her bed caught her eye. "Could this be from Heero?" she said quietly to herself.

She sat herself on the bed and carefully opened up the box. Her eyes went wide when she saw what was in it, a beautiful black dress. She gingerly pulled the dress out of the box and held it up in front of her. It was a floor length, black satin slip dress with a long slit up the side. "This is absolutely beautiful," her voice full of pleasure. A note then caught her eye as she lay the dress back down on the bed. She opened it and it read:

-Here's a little something for our date tonight, I hope you like it. Did you think

I would actually postpone a night like this? I'll pick you up in your room by 7.

Don't be late.-

Heero

Kanani smiled brightly and her heart began to flutter. She looked up at the clock and it read 6:30. With that in mind, she quickly went to the bathroom to dry her hair. With twenty minutes to spare, she took off her towel and rummaged through the dresser drawers to find a lacy pair of underwear and a satin bra, both black and perfect for the occasion. Along with them, she also found a pair of black pantyhose. With ease, she slipped the pantyhose on and ran to the bathroom to do her hair and makeup. She tied her hair up in a French Twist and began to carefully apply her makeup. In the midst of putting the finishing touches on her makeup, she heard a knock at the door. "I'll be right there Heero!" she yelled through the thick walls.

Heero just smiled and sighed, "Somehow I knew she wouldn't be ready on time."

Heero then heard the soft padding of feet as they made their way from the bathroom to the bedroom. 'Well at least she didn't take as long as I thought she would.'

Kanani pulled on the satin dress and zipped it up in the back. It fit her perfectly. Before answering the door, she put on a pair of black heels and took a quick glance in the mirror, she was quite happy with the results. "Oh geeze, I forgot my perfume," she said just as she was about to answer the door. She made her way to the bathroom and put the final touch to her look. With butterflies aloft in her stomach, she took a deep breath and opened the door. There she saw Heero leaning up against the stair rail looking away from her. "Heero?"

Heero turned around and his heart went to his throat, he'd never seen her look so beautiful. "You look amazing Kanani. I see that the dress fits perfectly on you. Oh, and these are for you," Heero said as he pulled a bouquet of long stem red roses from behind his back.

Kanani took the bouquet of roses and inhaled their sweat scent. She went up to him and gave him a huge hug and he returned the gesture. Heero inhaled the sweat scent of perfume that lingered around her neck and behind her ears as Kanani also took in the scent of his cologne that just sent a burning sensation throughout her senses. As she pulled away, she kissed him and said, "Thank you Heero. You don't look so bad yourself."

Heero was dressed in a fine tailored black suit with a white scarf draped around his neck and shoulders. His hair was the usual brown mop that casually hang down in front of his eyes. "I'm going to put these in water real quick, don't want these to wilt," Kanani told him as she walked into her room to find a vase. After finding a suitable vase, she filled it with water and placed the roses inside. Heero gave his arm to her and she took it. "Shall we?" Heero asked.

"Yes," was all that Kanani said.

Heero took Kanani to one of the finest Belgium restaurants in town. The place was beautiful from the inside out. There was an outside dining area lit dimly with little white lights and the ceiling was the stars above. "Would you like to sit outside?" Heero asked as he turned to look at her, he still couldn't believe how beautiful she looked.

"That sounds wonderful," she answered.

The waiter escorted them to their table outside on the patio. "Heero, I really wasn't expecting something quite like this," she said as she caught his gaze.

A slight smile crossed his face as he looked right back at her. "I knew you weren't and that's why I did it. Besides, you make such a lovely date," he remarked.

Kanani felt her face turn warm as her stomach started to churn. She turned her head upwards towards the stars to avoid his piercing gaze. "Is something the matter Kanani?" Heero asked at her momentary silence.

She just sighed and whispered, "It's just that no one has ever done anything like this for me. I keep thinking that this is all a dream, that this feeling will eventually fade away and I'll just wake up from it all."

Heero took her hand from across the table and held it warmly between his. "Look at me," he told her. She then returned her gaze back to his. "Kanani, if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up, ever. This feeling inside of me will burn until the day I die and I don't want that day to come because I don't think I could ever live without you."

Kanani's eyes began to glisten with unborn tears as she watched the sincerity in Heero's eyes as he spoke those words to her. She was afraid to respond for fear that she might burst into tears. "Do you always have to cry?" Heero said as he gently brushed away a lone tear from her cheek with his thumb.

Before Kanani could muster up a reply, the waiter came by and brought the conversation to a brief pause. Since Kanani was afraid of speaking at the moment, Heero went ahead and ordered for her. As soon as the waiter left, Heero turned to her and just took her in his gaze. "You know, before I had a hard time shutting you up and now I can't even get you to say a word," he commented on Kanani's silence.

That was enough to get a small giggle out of Kanani. "Very funny Heero. Did you really mean what you said, just a few minutes ago?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"It's just that I don't want to get hurt again. I have been hurt and used many times and I don't think I could handle it anymore, especially now."

Kanani saw the hurt look in Heero's eyes as soon as she said those words. "I love you Kanani, I would never do such things to you, even hurt you for that matter."

Kanani could hear the hurt in his voice and she just wanted to cry, not from being sad, but from being angry at herself. "I'm so sorry Heero," her voice wavering from the overwhelming urge to cry. "I'm so cruel to you and yet you still love me."

Heero looked up at her, his entire soul pouring out through his eyes. "Please don't talk like that, your too beautiful to cry," he answered as he brushed away another tear from her face.

Kanani in an effort to regain her composure, mouthed a very subtle, "I love you," to Heero. Heero acknowledged it by gently kissing the palm of her hand.

Moments later, the waiter brought their food to them and they sat there and dined under the stars. As they were leaving the restaurant, Heero turned to her and asked, "Are you up for dancing?"

She gently squeezed his hand and smiled brightly. "I know a place not too far from here that we can go to, sound good?"

Kanani was too elated to even reply. "I'll take that as a yes," Heero retorted.

The place that Heero took Kanani was a little outdoor dancing area overlooking one of the canals. The dance floor was a balcony encompassed by a stone railing and lit by little white lights. The air was filled with music from the small orchestra in the corner. Heero and Kanani held each other close as they danced under the star filled sky. During a break in the music, Kanani walked over to one of the railings that oversaw the canal. Heero came up behind her and put his arm around her waist. "Is there anything I could do to make your night more perfect?" he said as he pulled her close to him.

"Absolutely nothing," she replied.

"Oh that reminds me, I forgot to give you something," Heero told her as he fished around in his pocket. 

As she turned around, she saw Heero pull out a black box from his pocket. "I saw this at the boutique and had to get it for you, it was just too beautiful not to buy."

When he opened it, there inside the box was a beautiful gold necklace with a diamond in the shape of a droplet hanging from it. Heero carefully took the chain out of the box and gingerly put it around Kanani's neck. "Heero," she whispered.

"You don't have to say anything," was what he told her before kissing her tenderly.

The music started to play again and Heero offered his hand to her and she gladly took it. They continued to dance the night away, holding each other close the whole night through. They left when the orchestra did, they didn't want to let go of that moment. Hand in hand, they walked back towards the house. When they got back to the house, Heero escorted Kanani back up to her room. "Won't you come in?" Kanani asked as she pulled Heero by the hand into her room.

"Like I have a choice," he remarked.

The room was filled with a beautiful moonlight that was let in by the uncovered balcony doors. Kanani slipped off her heels in front of the bed and took a seat on the edge. Heero took off his coat and tie and draped it over one of the chairs. After taking off his shoes, he walked over and took a seat by Kanani on the bed and looked out the balcony window. The glow of the moonlight played off all her features nicely as Heero took in all that was her. He slowly brought his hand up to her face and caressed her cheek tenderly with the back of his hand. Kanani leaned into his hand as she turned to face him. There she was met with a pair of gorgeous blue eyes. "You look absolutely amazing tonight Kanani."

"No thanks to you," she replied coyly.

"You were still beautiful without the dress and makeup. To be loved by you is the most wonderful feeling one can ever imagine," he whispered as his lips neared hers. 

As he rested his forehead upon her, their lips brushed up against each others ever so slightly. He ran his hand through her hair and whispered, "Please don't ever leave me."

With those words, their lips touched in a tender and sweet kiss. The kiss grew as their lips melted into one another and within seconds, their tongues took apart in the intricate dance of passion. Without breaking the kiss, Heero eased Kanani onto her back, as his body hovered slightly above hers. His hands began to caress the sides of her body as they lingered up her arms and eased off Kanani's dress straps in one fluid motion, his mouth never leaving hers. Within moments, Kanani was liberated from her dress that now lay in a pool on the floor beside her. Before Heero could make his descent on her neck with his mouth, he felt her hands beginning to fondle the buttons on his shirt in an attempt to rid him of it. With one swift motion, Heero had his shirt off and onto the floor along with her dress. With that out of the way, Heero slowly kissed his way down her neck, gently nipping and tugging at the delicate skin. Kanani's back began to arch as she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. With hands still free, Heero slipped his hands behind her and unclasped her bra, that was the next thing to land on the floor. She was now almost completely exposed to him. She then paused and gently pushed his head up and away from her, smiling as she got up off of the bed. With her back turned to him, she slipped her pantyhose off and her underwear followed into the other heap of clothing on the floor. By the time she turned around, Heero had followed her cue and had taken off the rest of his clothes.

Heero walked over to her and grabbed her from behind around the waist and pulled her body to his. As he buried his face in the hollow her neck, he growled in her ear, "Your even more beautiful in the flesh. Now where were we?"

Heero scooped her up in his arms and carried placed her gingerly on the bed. He laid over her and began to divulge himself in her soft milky white flesh. He traced soft kisses from her neck down to her chest where he covered each succulent breast with his mouth. He gently suckled and nipped at each tender bud all the while kneading the other mound of soft skin. Kanani was starting to heat up under his touch. She could feel his manhood rubbing up against her already wet jewel, which caused her to moan in ecstasy. Heero then began to descend her body once more, lightly trailing his tongue down her smooth stomach. He could feel her wriggle beneath him, it was time to make her his. He raised his head from her stomach and brought his face up to hers and with a gentle kiss, he asked softly, "Can I make you mine?"

She said nothing and kissed him as an answer. Heero slowly moved on top of her and placed himself between her legs. With one smooth motion, he entered her and her warm tightness nearly sent him to heaven right then and there. He knew she was a virgin and he was her first so he had to be careful not to lose himself too quickly. With care and ease, Heero made love to Kanani, his one and only love. His heart began to race as he slowly picked up the pace, he was about to burst. Within minutes, Heero came inside her and fell on top of her in a fit of exhaustion. He rolled next to her and pulled her damp body close to his. He looked into her eyes and he could see slightly red rimmed eyes looking back at him. He brought his hand up to her face and brushed a few damp strands of hair away from her face. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

"I'm ok, I promise," she told him as she lazily ran her fingers over his smooth chest.

"I love you."

"And I love you Heero," she replied as she nuzzled her head against his chest.

Heero pulled the sheets over them and they both fell asleep within each other's embrace.


	11. Chapter 11

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 11

The night was still and the sounds of slumber filled the room as the moon cast its eerie glow into the room. As Heero lay sleeping, Kanani opened her eyes to a sleepless night. She looked over at Heero whom's chest she was nestled up against, his eyes shut and his face at rest for the night. She wanted to brush the stray bangs away from his face but the fear of waking him up deterred her from that notion. With caution, Kanani slipped out from Heero's embrace and carefully got out of bed, she didn't want to bother his peaceful slumber. She softly padded across the room to put her silk robe on her bare body. The full moon hanging in the sky caught her eye as she made her way over to the balcony window to get a better look. With arms folded across her chest, she stood there and gazed out at the night sky, admiring its beauty and serenity. In the midst of a dream, Heero rolled over, his arm landing in the empty space where Kanani was just lying. He slowly sat up and scanned the room and then saw a silouhette standing beside the balcony. "Kanani?" he murmured.

She tilted her head slightly in his direction and whispered, "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Heero peeled the sheets off of himself and wrapped them around his waist to cover himself up. He then got out of bed and walked over to where Kanani was standing. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. As he placed a tender kiss on her shoulder, he whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Couldn't sleep," she replied as she leaned into his warm embrace.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"I don't know, countless thoughts just overran my mind I guess," she said softly.

"Anything I can do?"

"You're doing it now. As long as you are there to hold me, I will always be fine."

Heero kissed her softly on the cheek and then on her temple. "I'm so glad dad hired a good looking body guard," she said out of the blue.

Heero chuckled at her little comment. "I don't think he had that in mind at the time."

Kanani laughed softly, "Yeah, I think so too, but it helped."

"Well you aren't so bad yourself," he whispered in her ear.

"Tell me Heero, what would you have done if the girl you were supposed to protect was rather ugly? Would you treat her any different?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I would protect her of course, but I don't think the relationship would go beyond friendship," he answered.

"Well, I guess this doesn't mean I'm ugly after all."

"What?" Heero said in surprise.

"When I was little, kids used to call me ugly and tease me all of the time because I was different, because I was from another country. I always thought that they were telling the truth," Kanani said.

Heero turned her around in his arms and lifted her chin with his finger. Looking her in the eyes he told her, "Who ever told you that was insane. You are perhaps the most beautiful person I know, both inside and out, don't let others opinion of you shape what you think of yourself."

Kanani just smiled back at him and hugged him tightly around the waist. "Thank you Heero."

"Don't mention it," he replied as he placed his head tenderly on top of hers. "Feel better now?"

"Much," she said into his chest.

"Now let's get some sleep ok?

"Sure," Kanani replied.

Heero took Kanani by the hand and walked with her back over to the bed. Kanani lost the robe and nestled back under the covers. Heero removed the sheet and as soon as he laid back down on the bed, he pulled it up on them. With Kanani resting safely in his arms, they both fell back asleep for the rest of the night. The remainder of the night was calm and peaceful, both of them sleeping with ease.

Vibrant rays of sunshine seeped into the room, a single ray landing upon Heero's closed eyes. His eye then popped open and looked out the window to see the sun starting its ascent on the horizon. 'Still to early,' he thought as he rolled over slightly to see Kanani still sleeping beside him. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked at her sleeping form. Pieces of auburn hair framed her delicate face in little wisps as the rest of it fell in a veil down her bare shoulders and back. 'I'm afraid if I close my eyes, she will disappear out of my life,' Heero thought as curled up closer to Kanani. 'I pray that will never happen,' he concluded as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

A few hours later, Heero felt movement in the bed beside him. When he opened his eyes, he was gazing right back at a pair of gorgeous emerald eyes. "Good morning Heero," she whispered softly to him.

He placed a sweet kiss on her forehead and answered, "Good morning to you."

Kanani ran her finger lazily in circles over Heero's smooth chest and in the midst of this, she looked up at him and said, "Thank you Heero."

"For what?" he replied with a smile on his face.

"For last night, I had a wonderful time. I had never been on a real date and you made it one of the happiest days of my life."

"No thanks needed. You weren't the only one who got something out of it," he told her.

"Well what did you get out of it?" Kanani asked as she tapped him lightly on the nose with her finger.

"I got you," he replied as he placed his forehead against hers. "That was all I wanted." And with those words, he placed an even sweeter kiss on her lips.

"Heero, does my father know where we are?" Kanani inquired out of the blue.

"I will call him later today to let him know, it's still too early to call right now," he answered.

"It's not that early," she responded, "It's 9am." A sly grin crossed her face and she whispered, "You just don't want to get out of bed do you?"

"Now you got the picture," he growled as he rolled on top of her.

Heero brought his face close to hers but before he could go any further, Kanani smiled evily and said, "But Heero, it's still too early." 

"Huh? That's not fair," he whined.

"Well why you stay here in bed and whine, I'm going to go take a hot shower," Kanani said as she rolled out from underneath him.

He then saw her bare body stride across the room towards the bathroom, her movements seducing his very being. Before she went into the bathroom and closed the door, she popped her head around the corner of the door and said, "Are you going to lay there and sulk or join me in the shower?"

Her head then disappeared back around the corner as she went to turn the shower water on. 'Wonder when he will realize what's going on?' she thought comically as she stepped in to the shower. As soon as she wet her hair, she felt two hands move on to her body. "That didn't take you long," she said as she turned around to look in to Heero's eyes.

Heero didn't say anything and just waved her around with his hand. He poured almost a palmful of shampoo in his hand and began to work it through Kanani's long red hair. The scent of vanilla lingered in the air as Heero carefully washed her hair. When he was done, he slowly turned her around, with his hands not once leaving her body, so she could rinse her hair out. With a bar of soap in hand, he caressed every inch of her skin as she rinsed her hair, covering her skin in a lush lavender lather. "If I had known you were such a good washer, I would have let you come in the shower with me a long time ago," she kidded.

"You don't know how many times I was tempted," he murmured as he kissed her shoulder.

"Now turn around," she ordered. "It's your turn."

Kanani worked a small amount of vanilla shampoo into his hair and massaged it in with her fingers. "Does your hair always stick up Heero?" she joked as her fingers ran in and out of the mass of brown hair.

"Very funny."

Kanani giggled and continued to wash his hair. Heero then rinsed out his hair as Kanani took the bar of soap in her hand. She slowly ran the bar over his body leaving a trail of lavender wherever it touched. Heero remained silent as he was being seduced by Kanani's touch and he was quite disappointed when she finished, she could have done forever as far as he was concerned. After Heero rinsed off, Kanani turned him around and told him, "There, you smell pretty now."

Heero said nothing and just pulled her body to his and kissed her deeply. As he released his lips from hers, she draped her arms around his neck and said, "I didn't know showers could be so fun."

He smiled and replied, "Yeah, even if I do smell like vanilla and lavender."

Kanani just laughed. After their exchange of words, they decided to get out of the shower and get something to eat. They went to the same little cafe as they went to the morning before and enjoyed a nice hot breakfast. On the way back, Kanani asked, "Heero, can we call my dad when we get back?"

"That's fine."

When they got back to the house, Heero along with Kanani, went up to his bedroom to get the vidphone out and call Kanani's dad. Heero set the phone down on the table and then Kanani took a seat in the chair in front of it. After Heero dialed up her father's number, he pulled a chair up next to her and waited for her father to pick up. "Your call has been connected," the computer chimed.

Just then, Mr. O'Neal appeared on the screen. "O'Neal here. Oh hey there Heero."

"Sir, just calling to let you know everything is all right. How's everything there?" Heero responded.

Kanani's father hesistated and Heero saw him look out the corner of his eye at something in the room. "Fine, everything's fine. Is Kanani there?"

"Hi dad," Kanani said as she popped her head in front of the screen.

"Hi princess. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine dad, Heero's taking really good care of me," she answered.

"Well that's good," he said flatly.

"Sir, is something the matter?" Heero asked, he knew something wasn't right.

"Everything is good Heero. Take care of my daughter." With those words, the screen went blank and Heero and Kanani were cut off.

"Well he didn't have much to say," Kanani responded to the short conversation that just took place.

"Dammit. Kanani, we're going back to Switzerland," Heero spat out.

"Why? What's wrong?" her voice full of fear.

"They have your dad Kanani."

Kanani's knees went weak and she collapsed to the ground below and began to cry. Heero went to her side and put his arm around her. "Everything is going to be all right. I'm going to rescue him from those bastards and destroy them once and for all."

She looked up and saw a look of anger and determination in his eyes. "I'm not going to let anymore people die," Heero concluded as he held Kanani tighter. "No more."

Within half an hour, Heero and Kanani were out of the house and on an airplane back to Switzerland. Kanani looked out the window of the plane as they left Belgium, fear and worry flooding her mind. Heero sat beside her, his eyes full of determination, he wasn't going to let this go any further. 'The war has now begun,' Kanani told herself as she leaned her head up against his shoulder. 'I just hope we don't lose.'


	12. Chapter 12

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 12

Silence engulfed the small space between Kanani and Heero, the air filled with tension and anger. Kanani just looked out the window as the plane soared through the sky amidst the white fluffy clouds. Heero hasn't said a word since the last time they spoke which was after they had just taken off. Kanani cocked her head slightly to catch a glimpse of Heero out the corner of her eye. He had a dark expression mounted on his face, one Kanani had never seen before. His eyes danced with fire as he stared at the seat in front of him, his thoughts gone somewhere else. The silence was driving Kanani nuts, she couldn't stand seeing him like this. She leaned her head up on his shoulder carefully and placed her hand on top of his. "Heero?" she whispered.

Heero remained silent and unwavering to Kanani's imploring. Ignoring this, Kanani spoke up once again. "Heero, what do you plan to do when we get there?" her voice calm and quiet.

She looked at him, hoping he would say something but Heero just closed his eyes and his lips remained unmoved. Kanani sighed and shifted away from him, averting her gaze back out the window. Heero had reverted back to his old self and it was hurting Kanani. She didn't want to lose Heero, the one whom she grew to know and love over this past month, the one she gave her heart and soul to. She closed her eyes and slowly turned away from him in an effort to hold back the swell of tears that formed in her eyes. Her hands balled up in to tiny fists as they began to shake with frustration as she clenched them tighter. She couldn't hold the tears back any longer and one by one, they slowly fell down her cheeks. 'Damn, can't I ever stop crying? Why can't I be strong like him?' 

Heero glanced over in her direction to check to see if she was all right. When he saw her cheeks moist with fresh tears, he knew she was far from all right. He placed his hand on her shoulder and that was enough for her to turn around. With a gentle hand, Heero brushed the hair away from her eyes and back behind her ears. With a gentle caress, he wiped the tears gently from her cheeks with his fingers. He brought his arm around her shoulders and pulled her body close to his, the other hand bringing her head on to his shoulder. Kanani embraced him around the waist and buried her face in his shoulder. Heero just gave her a soft kiss in her hair and with his fingers, he gently raised her face to his. "Honestly, I really don't know what to do. The thing I do know is that I'm going to take care of this once and for all. I won't let anyone hurt you or your father ever again," he reassured her.

"And what happens when this is all over?" 

Heero gave her a kiss and tightened his hold around her even more. "I will be able to love you without the thought of ever having to lose you," he whispered. "I will finally be able to live a normal life. I can't do that without you."

Kanani looked up at Heero and their lips locked in a tender kiss. Not another word was said as they held each other for the rest of the flight, both dreading the time when they would have to land. Within the hour, the plane arrived in Switzerland on schedule and the two got off with only a bag in each hand. "Kanani, I need you to stay close to me, you never know who's the enemy around here ok?" Heero instructed her and Kanani nodded.

She linked her arm in Heero's and he escorted her to their cab awaiting outside the terminal. As soon as they were in the cab, the coast was clear, for now. When the cab got moving, Kanani nudged Heero gently in the ribs and he tilted his head in her direction. "Heero, where are we going?" she asked quietly.

"To your dad's office. I have a feeling that the IRA have already met with your dad, they still might be there," Heero replied.

"Heero, we can't go there, you could get hurt," she said gripping his hand tightly.

"Kanani, we have no choice. Besides, this is my job, I'm trained to do this," a smug smile tugging at his lips with those words.

"I thought you were my bodyguard Heero," she asked innocently.

"Don't you remember? I was a trained assassin before I became your bodyguard. I have extensive training in matters such as these. This is why your father hired me, just believe in me Kanani," Heero reassured her but even those words weren't enough to ease the worry still lingering within.

Before Kanani could counter, the taxi driver called out, "You're here sir."

The car pulled up in front of her father's building. Heero handed the cab driver his fare and quickly exited the cab with bags in hand and Kanani right behind him. Heero scanned the area for any suspicious men and after seeing everything was clear, he took Kanani by the hand and they walked in to the building. Heero immediately searched for the nearest bathroom and once he spotted it, he casually walked over to it with Kanani close behind. "Heero, where are we going?" she whispered.

"Just follow me."

When they got to the bathrooms, Heero paused and looked around to make sure no one was looking. He looked at Kanani and he motioned with his head to go inside. She had no idea where he was going with this but she didn't question his motives. Before she knew it, Heero was right in the ladies room with her. "Heero, what are we doing in here?" she said dumbfounded.

Heero put his bag on the ground and opened it up. Kanani's eyes went wide when she saw his little arsenal of weapons. Heero took off his jacket and slipped a gun holster over his shoulders and stuffed two fully loaded automatics in each holster. He tucked another gun behind his back and a knife in his front pocket of his pants. He put his jacket back on and put the last of his guns in his front pocket. "Heero, where did you get all of these?" Kanani asked wide-eyed.

"I never leave home without these. Here, this is for you, just in case," he said giving her a small pistol. "Don't be afraid to use it if you have to all right?"

She just nodded and put the tiny gun in her coat pocket. Heero slid his bag under one of the bathroom stalls to conceal it. He then turned to Kanani and asked, "Are you ready?"

"I think so," she muttered nervously.

"Don't worry, just stay close to me and you may never have to use that. All right, let's go."

Kanani nodded and followed Heero out of the bathroom. The two walked over to the front desk where a receptionist was waiting. "Is Mr. O'Neal in?" Kanani asked the young lady.

"Oh hi Ms. O'Neal. Your father is in," the lady replied.

"Had he had any visitors today by chance?"

"Yeah, just a few hours ago a few young men came in. Is something the matter Ms. O'Neal?"

"Oh nothing at all. Must be a few of dad's co-workers. May I go up and see him?" Kanani said as she tried to hide the anger in her voice.

"Go right on up. Would you like me to tell him you're coming?"

"It's all right. I'm going to surprise him," she informed the receptionist with a smile on her face. "Good day," Kanani said as she turned on her heel and headed towards the elevator with Heero.

As soon as they were in the elevator car, they both knew they couldn't turn back. The ride to the top floor seemed to take forever as they watched the buttons light up with each floor they passed. Kanani was terrified at this moment but she knew she had to be brave for her father, for Heero. The elevator came to a stop and with a ding, the doors opened on to the top floor. "Well hello Ms. O'Neal," her father's secretary greeted them.

"Hi, is father busy?"

"Actually, he has been expecting you, go right on in," the secretary said just as the door opened to her father's office.

"Thank you," Kanani replied.

"Kanani, be careful, they are already in there," he whispered. She nodded and with Heero by her side, they entered.

"Hi dear," Mr. O'Neal said as the doors shut behind them. 

Heero glanced around the room and saw about five men lurking in the shadows. He stood there by the door and watched them with a close eye as Kanani took a seat at her father's desk, she had no idea that they were there. Heero didn't want to do anything just yet, he wanted to make sure that they were the ones he was after. With that in mind, he melded in to the shadows so he could not be seen, he wasn't the one they were initially watching, stupid move on their part. Kanani studied her father's face and saw that his eyes kept looking around the room with great fear. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

Her father said nothing and just then a man with fiery red hair and brown eyes stepped out and stood behind him. He wore a snug long sleeve shirt and black army style pants and a beret that adorned his head. "Hello Kanani, my how you have grown."

"What are you talking about, I don't know you..." then realization hit. "You are one of the men that killed my mother," she growled.

"It was not I that killed her, your father's words killed her," the man said calmly.

"Liar! I was there and you tried to kill me as well!" she screamed as her body started to shake violently.

"Ah yes, two birds with one stone. The thing is, we only got one bird."

"What?"

"We need the other birdie, say hi to your mother for me."

"Dad, help me!" she cried as four men crept out from the shadows all with the same attire as the guy behind the chair.

What Kanani did not know was that her father was bound behind the chair, there was nothing he could have done. Heero moved with stealth across the room, hanging in the shadows to keep himself hidden. Just then, the click of a gun could be heard and before he knew it, the man beside her father had a gun in this neck. "Back away from her now," he growled at the four men.

With smug looks on each of their faces, one man replied, "Sure, whatever you say."

At that moment, they reached for their guns and Kanani quickly dropped to the floor under her father's desk. Shots rang out and she became frozen with fear, this was all too familiar for her. Images of that day several years ago flooded her mind as the same fear came over her body. Heero managed to push her father down on the ground out of harm's way and use the man's body as a shield and then dove back behind the desk. 'Oh god, Heero, I must help Heero,' Kanani repeated in her head. She looked down at her pocket and with her hands still shaking, she drew her gun. With her hands gripping the gun tightly, the fearful look in her eyes dissipated and rage possessed them. "You bastards!" she screamed as she fired the gun at the assailants.

The men were taken by surprise as they weren't expecting her to be armed. Her adrenaline was high and all she could think about was getting revenge at the people who killed her mother. She had fired a round of consecutive bullets before hearing a click from her gun, she was out of bullets. She looked up from her position and saw four bodies laying on the floor, none of them moving. Kanani crawled out from under the desk, her body shaking as she dropped her gun to the floor. "Heero? Dad?" she murmured with tears in her eyes.

"Over here Kanani," Heero called.

Kanani walked behind the desk and saw her father alive and well on the floor and the body of the man protecting him. Heero was sitting up against the desk covered in blood, he had been shot in the arm. "Oh god Heero, are you ok?" Kanani cried as she fell to the floor beside him.

"It's nothing, are you ok?" Heero asked as he placed a hand on her cheek.

"I'm, I'm fine. Daddy, are you ok?"

"Besides having a dead man on top of me, I'm fine. Speaking of that, can one of you pull him off of me?" Mr. O'Neal replied sarcastically.

Kanani and Heero chuckled as they moved the body off of her father and untied him. They all stood up and made there way to the door. Unbeknownst to them, one of the men was still alive, just barely. As Heero helped Mr.O'Neal out, Kanani heard a click of a gun and saw the man on the floor with his gun pointed at Heero and her father. "Dad, Heero watch out!" she screamed as she threw her body in front of them.

The shot rang out in the room and next thing Heero knew, Kanani was laying on the floor with blood seeping from her abdomen. The shot had taken the rest of the guy's strength and he died just the moment after he fired the bullet. "Kanani!" Heero cried out.

"Quick, go call an ambulance!" Heero shouted at Mr. O'Neal.

Mr. O'Neal ran out of the office and called the paramedics. Heero dropped to Kanani's side and cradled her in his arms, tears running down his face. "Kanani, now why did you have to go and do that?" he said softly to her.

With weary eyes, she cracked a smile and muttered, "Love makes you do strange things."

Heero chuckled faintly as more tears poured down his face. "I'm the one who's supposed to protect you remember?"

"Well I wanted to protect you," she said as she grimaced in pain.

"Please, hang on. I don't know what I will do without you," Heero cried.

She rested her hand on his face and mouthed softly, "Don't worry, you're free now."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Heero cried as he saw her eyes start to shut. "Kanani!"


	13. Chapter 13

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 13

In the cold, bleak waiting room, Heero slumped down in his chair and watched the minute hand slowly make its way around the clock. His arm bandaged and in a sling but the arm didn't matter at the moment, nothing but the life of Kanani. 'How could I have let this happen? It should be me in there not her. Damn her, why did she have to go and do that?' Heero cursed to himself. He couldn't believe that this was all happening. It felt so surreal to him, like it was just a dream, more like a nightmare than anything. All he wanted to do now was wake up from it all and for everything to be okay. Luck was on their side that day when the ambulance got there just in time and they were able to get Kanani to the hospital within minutes of the shooting. 

Heero and Mr. O'Neal had been waiting for over an hour without a word from the doctor. The eerie silence of the emergency room was not the most comforting thing, but at that point, that was the least of Heero's worries. Sitting next to Heero was Mr. O'Neal, who sat with his face buried in his hands while his fingers slowly massaged his temples. He then brought his face up and ran his hands through his hair. Heero had not said a word since they got there and Mr. O'Neal knew the reason why. "Heero, this isn't your fault," Mr. O'Neal said as he placed his hand on Heero's shoulder.

"You hired me to protect her and I couldn't. I failed," Heero muttered bitterly.

Kanani's dad looked at him and the realization finally hit him. "You love her don't you?"

At that moment, Heero's eyes began to glisten. 'Don't cry Yuy, don't cry,' he told himself as he fought back his tears. "I couldn't protect her," he said in a hushed voice as he choked back the tears.

"She wanted to protect you as well," Kanani's father said and then paused. "Kanani is just like her mother, always putting herself before others, it's just in her nature," her father answered as he looked up at the ceiling. 

Those words made it even harder for Heero to hold back the tears. Just then, the sound of footsteps caught both of their ears and they looked up to see a doctor making his way towards them. "Mr. O'Neal?" the doctor asked and both Heero and her father stood up.

"How is she?" was the first question that came out of her father's mouth.

"She lost a lot of blood but we managed to stabilize her. She has just come out of surgery and is resting at the moment, her body is still very weak."

"Thank you doctor," Mr. O'Neal said with a smile of relief. A heavy load had just been lifted off of his shoulders.

"I will keep you posted on her condition," the doctor said as he turned and walked back down the hall.

"Heero, can you stay here while I get everything straightened out at the office?"

Heero nodded and Mr. O'Neal made his way to the exit. Heero then walked over to the nurse's station to see what room Kanani was in and if it was okay to see her. After finding out what he needed to know, Heero wasted no time and went up to her room on the top floor. Heero practically ran to her room only to freeze in his tracks the moment he saw her. He looked through the window and his heart fell in to the pit of his stomach and his knees felt as if they were going to give out. He took a deep breath, slowly opened the door, and quietly walked in. She lied there on the bed, tubes running in and out of her body as the sound of beeping resonated in the room. Heero walked to the side of her bed and sat in the chair beside her. He ran his hand across her face, her skin had grown pale but it still retained its softness. Smoothing the strands of hair from her face, he brought his lips to her brow and gave her a gentle kiss. "You're so stubborn," he joked as he choked back the unrelenting tears. "I was the one who was supposed to protect you!" he cried out, he couldn't contain the pain any longer.

He buried his head in her side and wept, his tears flowing as freely as ever. Sobs wracked his body as he let everything out, he just couldn't hold it back anymore. He had almost lost the one he loved and it was all his fault, at least he thought so. Weariness overcame his body as he fell asleep right where his head laid. Hours later, Heero awoke as he felt a gentle hand on his head. He turned and saw Kanani's eyes partly open. "I thought I was the one who was supposed to cry," she remarked weakly at seeing Heero's red rimmed eyes.

His eyes began to sparkle and a few tears fell down his cheeks. "Now why did you have to go and do this to yourself? Stubborn girl," Heero said sarcastically in an attempt not to break down again.

"I wasn't going to let anyone else die while protecting me," she replied, her voice weak and shaky, she still wasn't fully awake from the anesthesia.

"That was my job," he told her as he placed his hand on the side of her face.

"And it was my job to protect you because I love you. I wasn't going to lose you," she answered softly. Tears started to well in her eyes as well. 

"I thought I lost you," those words catching in Heero's throat as more tears streamed down his face. "Just don't do that again all right?"

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, "I don't plan on it any time soon. Are you all right?"

"It's just a scratch, I've seen worse."

She chuckled lightly, "I'm sure you have. Where's dad, is he ok?"

"He's fine, just straightening a few things out at the office that's all. He'll be back as soon as he gets everything taken care of," Heero answered.

"Is it really all over Heero?" she said taking a hold of his hand.

He pressed his lips to her palm and then curled her hand back in to a fist. "Let's just say that they won't be bothering you or your father for quite sometime, if at all."

"I'm glad."

"Kanani honey!" Mr. O'Neal chimed as he walked in to her room.

"Daddy!" Kanani cried as her father leaned in and give her a loose hug. "That didn't take long." 

"The police got there and took care of most of the things. How are you feeling princess?" her father asked as he kneeled beside her bed.

"A little weak but otherwise fine," she told him with a smile on her face.

Mr. O'Neal then turned to Heero and stood back up. "Heero, I want to thank you for all that you have done for me and my daughter. She's the only thing I have left and without her I would have nothing. I'm eternally grateful."

Heero nodded and gave his hand to Mr. O'Neal for a handshake but was given a brief hug in return. "Thank you Heero. I'm going to go check things out at the office right now, see how everyone's doing. I will be back later dear, get some rest."

"All right dad, love you."

"Love you too," Mr. O'Neal responded just before walking out the door.

"Well Heero, guess I won't be needing a bodyguard anymore," she remarked and Heero gave her a questioning look. "Don't you remember the promise we made? That when this was all over, you and I could live a normal life together as friends, none of that bodyguard business. Well how bout' it?"

"Friends eh?" Heero asked with a smirk on his face.

"Well that was the initial deal remember."

"Yeah," Heero answered with a smile.

"But I think we could bend the rules just a little bit don't ya think?" Kanani told him as he brought his face close to hers.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Heero told her as he planted a sweet kiss on her lips.

*~Owari~*


End file.
